New Music Wrap Up: Shea Fisher, Kane Brown, Kristy Cox and more!

As well as the featured new releases from Kacey Musgraves, Jake Davey, Luke Combs and our Artist of the Week Lily Grace, there’s a handful of artists we’re still keen to share! From Shea Fisher to Kane Brown, Kristy Cox to Kora Naughton, Mickey Guyton to Keith Urban and so many more, here’s a wrap up of all the new releases in country world!

Rope Swing – Shea Fisher

Rope Swing is the super-vibey new single from Shea Fisher, which is co-written and co-produced by Walker Hayes. Now based in Nashville, Tennessee and Weatherford, Texas, Australian-born Fisher became friends with Hayes when she first moved to overseas, and the two have since written several songs together that will feature on her next album.

She says, “Rope Swing is one of those fun songs I hope people play in their car with their windows down, or have it turned up when they are hanging out with friends enjoying the spring and summer months to come.”

One Mississippi – Kane Brown

Kane Brown's new track, One Mississippi follows his last country radio single Worship You,which peaked in the top 20 on the country mediabase chart. The track has over 97 million streams worldwide. Co-written with Levon Gray, Jesse Frasure and Ernest K. Smith, in One Mississippi, Brown finds himself in an on-again, off-again romance that's by now predictable.

The song features on his 2020 EP, Mixtape, Vol. 1. More recently, he teamed up with Chris Young on their number one single, Famous Friends and with hip-hop/R&B artists Blackbear on Memory.

Person Of The Year – Kristy Cox

Australia’s “Queen of Bluegrass,” Kristy Cox has released her first single through her new deal with Billy Blue Records, and it’s a very special tribute to dedicated workers on the health care front line. Written by Jerry Salley and Bill Whyte, the song will appear on Kristy’s seventh album, (her first on Billy Blue Records), entitled Shades of Blue.

She says, “Person of the Year is such a special song that pays tribute to nurses and doctors who work tirelessly to save others. The last 18 months have been especially hard on them. Jerry and Bill brought tears to my eyes with their lyrics that ring so true. I have multiple family members who work in this field and this song is for them and so many others.”

Devil On Your Shoulder – Kora Naughton

Kora Naughton backs up her duet Last This Summer with Bryce Sainty with her catchy new single, Devil On Your Shoulder. A fan favourite since the release of her ARIA charting album, Nineteen; according to Kora, it was the song that stood out most to her from the moment she wrote it.

She says, “It’s hard enough being a teenager, trying to make decisions that will impact the rest of your life when you’re still trying to figure it all out. In a world where so many of us believe that our worth is determined by our Instagram likes, we’ve chosen to only show people the parts of ourselves that we think others will consider appealing. Devil on Your Shoulder is about suppressing those other parts of yourself, those pesky little ‘devils on each of our shoulders’, and choosing not to be vulnerable, which by the way, is DEFINITELY the wrong choice.”

Dark - Michael Waugh

Dark is the third single from Michael Waugh’s latest studio album, The Cast. It follows Flying and Dirty River – which peaked at #13 and #15 respectively on the Countrytown Music Network Hot 50 Country Airplay Chart. The music video, shot by long-time collaborator Sean Kirkwood, is directed and conceived by Waugh.

He says, “We were inspired by music videos from the ‘80s – especially Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark and Pat Benatar’s Love is a Battlefield videos. The concept was about living out a night in reverse – almost like you’re piecing together a messy night. The highlight for me though was working with a group of ex-students who play the backing dancers and the young woman at the night club.”

Night Left – Jake Hoot

Season 17 winner of The Voice US, Jake Hoot ages himself 20 years in his latest music video Night Left, which finds the singer doing his best to keep a close eye on his teenage daughter. Co-written with Kylie Sackley and Danny Myrick, and produced by Myrick, the new single follows his ballad with Kelly Clarkson, I Would've Loved You.

He explains, “Kylie had this idea that we got a whole lot of night left, and so we just kind of ran with the idea. I had heard the phrase ‘aight bet’ from my little brother last year and didn’t know what it meant, so I asked him, and he clarified what it meant. So, I was just like, ‘Oh, that’s a cool little phrase.’ I feel like it’s used a lot, but not put in music.”

Wild Hearts – Keith Urban

Keith Urban’s newest single Wild Hearts is an uplifting track with pop and rock elements that the country superstar co-produced with Mitch Furr. Urban wrote the track with three fellow artists Eric Paslay, Brad Tursi of Old Dominion and Jennifer Wayne from Runaway June. The song is an empowering call-to-arms to anyone who dares to dream.

"To all of the lost ones who aren't really lost ones, this song is for you. We are WILD HEARTS!" Urban wrote on Instagram.

The Ones We Love – Georgia State Line

The Ones We Love is from Georgia State Line’s upcoming debut album. In Colour will be released under the newly inked deal with Cheatin’ Heart Records – the new label venture by Thirroul Music Festival founders, Luke Woods and Aaron Curnow (also founder of Spunk Records).

She says, “The song comes from a place of wondering how we’ll be remembered once we have left the earth. Will others remember us for the good we did, or tried to do? Or for the hurt that we caused?”

Cemetery Kids – Corey Legge

Corey Legge plays heartfelt alt-country and folk-rock, drawing influence from his wholesome upbringing amongst the fertile pastures surrounding Bega, NSW. His latest single, Cemetery Kids was written about growing up on farmland surrounding the Bega Cemetery in the 1990s and early 2000s.

He says, “Cemetery Kids is a song which is very close to my heart and gives you a glimpse at what it was like to grow up in Bega on the NSW Far South Coast. I hope it brings back good memories from your childhood and puts a smile on your face in these strange and uncertain times we are currently living in.”

All American – Mickey Guyton

Mickey Guyton has released her new song, All American from her album Remember Her Name, which will be available on September 24th. Mickey co-wrote the song with Victoria Banks, Emma-Lee and Karen Kosowski, the same songwriting team who wrote the critically acclaimed What Are You Gonna Tell Her?

She says, “I wrote All American with my dream team of incredible female writers. This song embodies everything that makes America special. From a Texas sky to New York City lights and daisy dukes to dookie braids, despite all our differences, we are all American.”

Higher Education – Michael Ray ft. Kid Rock, Lee Brice, Billy Gibbons, Tim Montana

Michael Ray has released his latest single, Higher Education (featuring Kid Rock, Lee Brice, Billy Gibbons and Tim Montana) from his latest EP of the same name, which features his previously released single Whiskey and Rain, Picture and Just The Way I Am. The track was written by Montana, Derek George, Jeremy Bussey, Monty Criswell and Frank Rogers.

He says, “Higher Education is about going through life and the hard knocks that make you who you are … coming out of it stronger, having let it change you without hardening you. This album reminds me that even though we all go through hard times, we grow and we’re better for it.”

Dirt Road Down – Travis Denning

Travis Denning has released his latest track, Dirt Road Down from his sophomore six-song EP of the same name. Mixing Denning’s personality with a hunger for the stage and a shot of his whiskey-rocking country sound, the collection includes his current, joyfully untamed goodbye singalong, ABBY, and five additional songs co-written by Denning. The new release is the follow up to Denning’s Top 20 debut EP.

The Great Divide - Montgomery Church

Since their formation, Montgomery Church have been quietly but quickly gathering a fan base who love their blend of acoustic folk, Americana and bluegrass influences. Their latest track, The Great Divide is written about a defining time in Australian history when strangers from all corners of the world emigrated to the Snowy Mountains of NSW to accomplish one of the greatest engineering feats of our time - the building of 'The Snowy Scheme'.

As Long As It's Not Us – Lachlan Bryan and the Wildes with Tim Rogers

Lachlan Bryan and the Wildes have released the title track, As Long As It's Not Us from their forthcoming studio album of the same name. Featuring and co-written with Tim Rogers, the song itself treads the line between cynical, tongue in cheek and euphoric.

Bryan says, “This song kind of sums up my whole world view - I guess it’s the Aussie underdog mentality that I can’t seem to shake as a songwriter or a person.  With that in mind I knew Tim Rogers was the right guy to help me with it - we traded lyrics by voice memo and email in the middle of the night for weeks, and then when it was finished, he suggested we do the two-part harmony thing the whole way through.”

Cool – Twinnie

Twinnie returns with her first taste of new music in more than a year. The anthemic pop crossover single Cool sees her stepping out of the country music realms and more into the mainstream pop world, but the storytelling element remains and so does her natural twang. Cool is acting as the launchpad of a new version of Twinnie’s 2020 debut album Hollywood Gypsy.

She says, “It’s a hopeful break-up song. It’s about being hopeful for a relationship that’s not quite done yet. It’s in that stage of maybe one day everything will be ok and it’ll work out, even if we’re not together right now.”

Only In A Small Town – RaeLynn

Written with Corey Crowder and Rhett Akins, Only In A Small Town arrives just ahead of RaeLynn’s upcoming full album, BAYTOWN, which is set for release on September 24. Named after her hometown outside of Houston, Texas, the project will expand her 2020 BAYTOWN EP to include 14 tracks in total.

She said on Instagram, “I've been playing Only In A Small Town live for a while now and this one is special because I could see it resonating with people all around the world. There really are things that would only happen in a small town!”

Bye Mom – Chris Janson

Chris Janson’s Bye Mom is derived from the real-life story of co-writer Brandon Kinney, who lost his mother earlier this year. He, alongside long-time friend Janson, put the experience into lyrics as a tribute to his mother. Together, they turned the song into a message not just about loss, but also about loving someone more than yourself.

Janson says, “My co-writer Brandon and I wrote Bye Mom this year after he lost his mother. Even though it was written as a tribute to one special person, I think this song is universal. At its core, Bye Mom is about unconditional love – ‘you don’t realise you’re somebody that somebody loves more than themselves.’ Whether it’s from a mom or someone else, everyone deserves to experience that kind of love.”

Being Here, Being There – Rod + Rose

Rod + Rose have released their debut single, Being Here, Being There, along with a stylish lyric video featuring the married pair performing the heartfelt tune. Rodney Atkins and Rose Falcon both have long, successful careers in country music, with Atkins releasing numerous chart-topping singles and popular albums, and Falcon having written some huge hits for artists like Eric Paslay, Faith Hill and Lady A.

Atkins shared on Instagram, "Rose and I have been singing together for a long time now, but after going through the last year side by side, we decided to finally focus on making a project. Something that was a little different than what we both do individually. There's nothing better than doing what you love with your best friend. It wasn't always easy, but we leaned on each other and now we have Rod + Rose to show for it."

For more great content, check out our other features here.

Image: Supplied