This is how you drop a debut EP.
Stephen Wilson Jr. dropped his EP Bon Aqua last night, and although the majority of the songs on the EP were previously released as singles, his new track “American Gothic” features Hailey Whitters.
Stephen Wilson Jr is self-described as “Death Cab for Country” in his Instagram bio, which perfectly does the job of summing up his sound.
And “American Gothic” highlights his distinct sound and phenomenal songwriting skills.
Featureing heavy guitar riffs and Wilson’s poetic songwriting about growing up in small towns, the addition of Hailey Whitters to the mix was a genius move on his part.
Not only because it brings a name that country music knows and loves but because if any knows about singing about their roots, it’s Miss Whitters.
She even took to Instagram to share the tune about two kids from the corn fields.
“Just two children of the corn singin’ about some Midwest real life livin’… so dang proud to be singin’ on this one.”
The first listen through the track, I was immediately drawn to the tune’s melody, and then the more I listened to the track, the more I dove into the lyrics and their meaning.
The sound of Wilson on this tune takes me back to old Hailey Whitters sounds like “Black Sheep,” so she compliments his lead vocals beautifully.
I love this tune about simple livin’ and enjoying what you have. As they say in the chorus, “This is real life livin’.”
I will have “American Gothic” as a constant in my rotation for the foreseeable future. This is a killer tune from the newcomer Wilson, and it’s great to hear Whitters let her vocal ability shine.
You can catch Stephen Wilson Jr. on tour with The Lone Below, making a few stops with Marcus King in the Dakotas.
If you can’t make those, you can catch him at Bourbon and Beyond Festival or Fairwell Festival.
Tour Dates:
3/30: Iowa City, IA – Wildwood Smokehouse and Saloon #
3/31: Peoria, IL – Crusens #
4/1: Des Moines, IA – Wooly’s #
4/12: Charleston, SC | The Riviera Theater *
4/13: Saxapahaw, NC | Haw River Ballroom *
4/14: Greer, SC – The Spinning Jenny
4/15: Ponte Vedra Beach, FL – Ponte Vedra Concert Hall *
4/16: Clearwater, FL – Bilheimer Capitol Theatre
5/10: Burlington, VT – Higher Ground Ballroom
5/11 – Brownfield, ME – Stone Mountain Arts Center *
5/12 – Tarrytown, NY – Tarrytown Music Hall *
5/13 – Newport, RI – Jane Pickens Theater *
5/14 – Concord, NH – Capitol Center for the Arts *
5/16 – Woodstock, NY – Levon Helm Studios *
5/17: Hartford, CT – Infinity Hall
5/20: London, UK – Royal Albert Hall – Highways Festival
5/22: Munich, Germany – Backstage Kulturzentrum
5/23: Cologne, Germany – Helios 37
5/24: Hamburg, Germany – HÄKKEN
5/25: Berlin, Germany – Maschinenhaus
6/2: Chattanooga, TN – Riverbend Festival
# – with Hailey Whitters
* – with The Lone Bellow
