Struggle Jennings and Bryan Martin Team Up for Gritty Country-Outlaw Anthem “Don’t Play Your Games”

When country music dares to bare its teeth, the result sounds a lot like “Don’t Play Your Games” a raw, unapologetic anthem from two of country’s modern-day outlaws: Struggle Jennings and Bryan Martin. Dropping July 18 via Average Joes/ONErpm, the track marks the first look into the duo’s upcoming EP 1976, set to release in September 2025.

With family legacy coursing through his veins, Struggle Jennings, grandson of Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter brings the same rebel fire that built outlaw country from the ground up. Pair him with Bryan Martin, the no-frills “roughneck” singer-songwriter straight off the oil rigs of Louisiana, and you get something explosive. Grit meets grit. Truth meets twang.

“I don't play your games, this town might drive a man insane, when it all burns down, I won't complain…” the two declare in a no-holds-barred chorus that sounds less like a warning and more like a vow. “Don’t Play Your Games” leans into the frustrations of independence, the suffocating pressures of a fickle industry, and the unshakable loyalty to one’s roots. This isn’t polished. This is country with dirt under its nails.

What began as two friends writing from the gut, without label expectations or chart-topping intentions, turned into a full-blown creative reckoning. Both men have carved their own paths through hard living, hard lessons, and harder-earned respect. They came to the studio with nothing but their stories and a shared mission — to make music that means something.

The upcoming 1976 EP promises more of the same: outlaw country with a steel spine. If “Don’t Play Your Games” is the first taste, fans can expect an entire project that honors the past while punching forward with conviction.

Struggle and Martin are not here to fit the mold, they’re here to break it. And this new chapter? It sounds like a storm rolling in.