7 New Country Songs You Must Hear: Kacey Musgraves, ERNEST, Jelly Roll and more

This week, Kacey Musgraves delivers a gorgeous, folksy ballad from her album Deeper well, while ERNEST teams up with the ubiquitous Jelly Roll for a new track and Cyndi Thomson returns with “The Georgia in Me.” See all this and more Advertising sign picks for best new country of the week below.

Kacey Musgraves, “The Architect”

A great track from her new album Deeper well, “The Architect” marks one of the project's high marks. Gently hypnotic and well-written, this song questions whether life's zeniths, nadirs, and turns along the way are orchestrated or happen by chance. “I don't understand, are there plans or plans?
May I speak to the architect?' she sings Written by Musgraves with longtime collaborators Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, this intense track marks another musical triumph.

ERNEST feat. Jelly Roll, “I Went To College / I Went To Jail”

Country music has a storied tradition of artists nodding to their own less glamorous moments that become central parts of their legend and legacies, from Haggard's “Mama Tried” to George Jones' “No Show Jones.” ERNEST and Jelly Roll are both Nashville natives, and in this collaboration, they detail their unusual journeys to stardom, from ERNEST dropping out after a year of college and Jelly Roll's evolution from jail cell to CMA award winning artist. Along the way, both paid their music industry dues as well.

“Who came out on top/ Hell, it's hard to tell,” they sing triumphantly, boosted by a flourish of steel guitars, violin and piano. Jelly even calls out the criminal justice center position that is central to so much of his story. ERNEST wrote the song with Chandler Paul Walters, Luke Bryan and Rivers Rutherford. and “I Went to College/ I Went to Jail” will be featured on ERNEST's upcoming album on April 12th. Nashville, Tennessee.

Cyndi Thomson, “The Georgia in Me”

In the two decades since the release of her debut album My world, scoring a top Country Airplay hit with “What I Really Meant to Say” and then choosing to leave her role as a recording artist behind, this Georgia native has released music sporadically. Her smooth, dark vocal design is still as strong as a Southern magnolia, and front and center on her first new music since 2016, this song she co-wrote with Paul Sikes (“Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” ” Make Me Want To'') recalls teenage summers spent on red dirt roads, filled with fun Saturday nights and glorious Sunday mornings, with the song also nodding to another Georgia-born country singer, Trisha Yearwood. This sweet but sweet-sounding track is a solid addition to Thomson's all-too-brief musical canon.

Matt Koziol, “I Was”

The age-old rap in Koziol's voice gives this blues-country track a real air, as he reminisces about his earlier days of flying too fast down an unhealthy road and all the times he was “top of the prayer list” and the ” reason for the last call”. Understated piano and percussion lend an oaky warmth to Koziol's voice. This track, written by Koziol with Kenton Bryant, is from Koziol's upcoming album out April 5 The last of the old dogswhich follows the 2022 project Wild Horse and the deluxe edition of 2023 Wild Horse (Barrel Aged).

Ben Rector and Hailey Whitters, “Color Up My World”

This quirky love song manages to nod to Pat Green, Bob Ross and turquoise nude suits in just two minutes. On this banjo track, Rector's vocals balance both quick wit and charisma, while Whitters' smooth twang is the sweetener.

Madison Hughes, “I Hate That You Love Me”

The voice The Hughes alum hit it big last year with the country tune “I Need a Drink.” Her latest dip is more into the realm of blues than straight-forward country, and it stands as a towering testament to both Hughes' guitar and growling vocal skills. Her voice is world-weary, her guitar tones tinged with angst as she delivers a remarkable tale of falling heads for a charismatic heartbreaker. The immensely talented Hughes is on a star-making trajectory.

Riley Green, “Way Out Here”

Before Keith Urban gave a nod to three “Johns” in “John Cougar, John Deere and John 3:16,” singer-songwriter Josh Thompson paid tribute to his own trio of icons named John — Johnny Cash, John Wayne and John Deere — on his top 20 Hot Country Songs hit from 2010. Now, Riley Green offers his own rendition of Thompson's hit. “We don't give a damn if we don't earn it/ When it comes to weight, bro, we pull our own,” Riley sings. His take is more restrained, with slightly more moody production, on this 15-year-old song about defending farm life, but he delivers this track with a lot of heart.