Hank Williams Jr.

Flytjendur

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  Hank Williams, Jr.

  2026 Tour Dates on sale now. Get tickets here: https://www.hankjr.com/tour

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  Joe Nichols

  In a genre that has occasionally drifted away from its three chords and the truth mission

  statement, Joe Nichols has never wavered. “I’m a singer of country songs,” he declares. “That’s

  what I do.”

  It’s that steadfast commitment to country music that’s made Joe one of Nashville’s most honest

  and versatile voices, regarded for his warm and distinctly country tone by everyone from Dolly

  Parton to Post Malone — he’s sung with both. On his new album Honky Tonks and Country

  Songs, Joe continues to connect country’s traditional past with its diverse present over 11 radio-

  ready tracks.

  His second album for Quartz Hill Records, Honky Tonks and Country Songs is built around the

  two pillars of the title. “I’ve been in a lot of honky-tonks,” Joe says. “They’re the only places I

  could play for a long time, and you learn a lot about being an entertainer there, because people

  come wanting to hear a good song and have a good time. Country songs speak not just to those

  people, but to all people.”

  The album’s first offering, “Bottle It Up,” is an easygoing yet irresistible celebration of the

  country life, with Joe singing about the simple joys of catching fireflies and kissing on a porch

  swing, wishing he could capture the feeling forever. He describes the song as “front-porch,

  rocking-chair country.”

  “I'm a big Don Williams fan and ‘Bottle It Up’ reminds me of something that he would have

  recorded,” Joe says. “It’s a simple country song that you can jam to on the lake or on your way to

  work, or hanging out in front of the barbecue on a Sunday. It fits all those categories, and it’s

  great to play live too.”

  The ability to connect with fans both on a record and on a stage is a rare gift, but Joe — like

  fellow dyed-in-the-wool trad-country vocalists George Strait, Parker McCollum, and Cody

  Johnson —made a career out of making it look easy. Since arriving on the scene as a teenager,

  he’s had a knack for finding and singing just the right song for the right moment. He did it with

  Number One hits “The Impossible,” “Gimmie That Girl” and “Brokenheartsville” (the latter of which he and Post Malone recently duetted live in Nashville), with the irreverent chart-topper

  “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” and with the back-to-back Number Ones “Sunny and 75”

  and “Yeah.” He does it with cover songs too: His mashup of Hank Williams Jr.’s “A Country

  Boy Can Survive” and Alice in Chains’ “Rooster” is a fan favorite. It’s this same authentic

  connection that has earned Nichols over two billion audio streams to-date as well as three

  GRAMMY nominations, a CMA award, ACM and CMT Music Award trophies plus multiple

  gold and platinum-certified records.

  On Honky Tonks and Country Songs, he finds that sweet spot with “People Still Doing That,” a

  song that speaks directly to listeners who might be feeling old school in a modern age.

  “There is a forgotten bunch of people that don't like the noise of the world, and they prefer to do

  simple things, like shooting pool, dancing, or even just being a gentleman,” he says. “I love that

  there's still a culture like that, where people go about their daily lives and aren’t interested in

  social media or the hot new spot downtown.”

  Elsewhere, Joe delivers a heartfelt love song for the ages in “Doin’ Life With You,” a vow to

  one’s partner that you’ll be by their side through thick and thin — and wouldn’t want it any other

  way. For Joe, he sings the ballad through the lens of being a father and a husband. “Life can be

  hard, with its peaks and its valleys, but I love the person I'm doing it with,” he says. “That song

  will resonate with a lot of people.”

  Joe also welcomes a pair of guests on two tracks: Runaway June’s Stevie Woodward joins him

  on, “Hard Fires,” while Annie Bosko appears on the duet “Better Than You.” “Stevie and Annie

  are both amazing singers, and they bring some cool moments to the album,” Joe says. “I love

  having their voices on those songs.”

  “Better Than You,” Nichols’ first radio single from the new album, is a smoldering love song,

  with the narrator painfully aware that he’d never find a lover better than the one he has. “It’s a

  slow-burner,” Joe says of the song. “There’s an interesting balance on the album, with some

  songs racing out of the speakers, and others intentionally taking their time to catch fire.”

  For the album’s centerpiece, Joe and his producers, Mickey Jack Cones and Derek George,

  selected the perfect anthem. Written by Tyler Hubbard, Matt Jenkins, Travis Wood, and Casey

  Brown, the title track is a lighthearted love song about all the things that fit perfectly together:

  dance floors and neon lights, Tennessee and Jack Daniel’s, and “Honky Tonks and Country

  Songs.” It’s no wonder that, “Better Than You,” recently catapulted out of the gate as a Top 3

  Most Added Song at U.S. Country Radio (Mediabase), upon it’s impact date. It’s good to have deep, impactful songs like ‘Doin’ Life With You,’ but it’s also good to have

  fun songs — and the title track is a fun one,” he says. “That song is a dancer.”

  In the end, Honky Tonks and Country Songs is an album a lot like Joe himself: The country

  music is what you’ll notice immediately, but hang around a little and you’ll learn about the artist

  too. Like how he first had success while only in his 20s, why he’s fascinated by science and

  UFOs, and all he has yet ahead of him as an influential and current country singer.

  “My job is to make people feel good. And sometimes that means with fun and happy songs, and

  other times with sad and sorrowful truths. But the goal is always to make them feel good,” Joe

  says. “This album is meant to do exactly that. Everyone can find a good time in a honky-tonk

  and a country song.” For information on Joe Nichols and a list of upcoming tour dates, please visit: https://www.joenichols.com

• John Foster