Stephen Wilson Jr. is quickly making a name for himself with his incredibly deep songwriting, captivating production and distinct vocals.
The man made a major splash back in March with the release of his debut EP, dubbed the bon aqua EP.
He did it again back on Father’s Day weekend, with the release of his single “Father’s Son.”
With that being said, the southern Indiana native is ready to officially put it all together, as he announced his debut album Son Of Dad today.
The debut project is co-produced by Wilson and Benjamin West, and it’s slated to drop on September 15th, and ahead of the album, Wilson dropped two lead singles dubbed “Mighty Beast” and “All The Wars From Now On.”
Weighing in on “Mighty Beast,” Wilson said:
“’Mighty Beast’ was a song that grew from the pandemic. An artifact from within a bit of a lost season. It has its share of religious undertones paired with satirical adrenaline.
The song was these 2 verses and a chorus written with Ryan Necci right before the shut-down. More like a hymn in structure that became hi-jacked by the unnecessary monster it needed to become this song. And with an extra-unapologetic mindset at the time, the musical imagination freely ran wild with it.”
And for “All The Wars From Now On,” Wilson added:
“’All The Wars From Now On,’ was written for my late grandfather, a Korean War veteran who had his share of scars from the conflict.
The origin of the song came from watching a few war veterans at a diner in my hometown go about just like my grandfather once did one random morning. I couldn’t help but see him in their jovial conversations, and the thought hit me that the world would be a peaceful place if men like these were fighting all the wars.
I knew he would see the honesty and humor in that scenario and enjoy the Norman Rockwell-ion approach to painting this song.”
And in conclusion, Wilson said:
“Writing and making this album has been very therapeutic for me to learn who I am and what my existence looks like after my father.
Because life has to go on. I’m living my own life, but it’s like his death bookended what life he should have had onto mine and I’m carrying it around like a train car.”
Give ’em a listen:
“Mighty Beast”
“All The Wars From Now On”
Son Of Dad Tracklist:
1. the devil (Stephen Wilson Jr.)
2. Cuckoo (Stephen Wilson Jr., Travis Meadows, Jeffrey Steele)
3. billy (Stephen Wilson Jr.)
4. patches (Stephen Wilson Jr., Jeffrey Steele)
5. American Gothic (feat. Hailey Whitters) (Stephen Wilson Jr., Benjamin West, Hailey Whitters)
6. Werewolf (Stephen Wilson Jr., Bryan Simpson)
7. Mighty Beast (Stephen Wilson Jr., Ryan Necci)
8. Year to Be Young 1994 (Stephen Wilson Jr., Benjamin West)
9. twisted (Stephen Wilson Jr., Jeremy Spillman, Connor Thuotte)
10. Father’s Son (Stephen Wilson Jr., Josh Kerr, Nick Wayne)
11. Grief Is Only Love (Stephen Wilson Jr., Jeffrey Steele)
12. Hang in There (Stephen Wilson Jr.)
13. Calico Creek (Stephen Wilson Jr., Jesse Murphy, Michael Wilkes)
14. Holler from the Holler (Stephen Wilson Jr., Craig Wiseman)
15. Hometown (Stephen Wilson Jr., Marv Green, Tony Lane)
16. Not Letting Go (Stephen Wilson Jr., Andrew DeRoberts)
17. For What It’s Worth (Stephen Wilson Jr., Benjamin West)
18. All the Wars from Now On (Stephen Wilson Jr.)
19. kid (Stephen Wilson Jr., Lori McKenna, Benjamin West)
20. Henry (Stephen Wilson Jr., Tony Lane)
21. You (Stephen Wilson Jr., Bryan Simpson)
22. The Beginning (Stephen Wilson Jr.)
Tour Dates
7/18: Bozeman, MT – The Rialto #
7/21: Kemmerer, WY – Oyster Ridge Music Festival
7/22: Redmond, OR – FairWell Festival
7/24: Hillsboro, OR – Washington County Fair
7/27: Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom *
7/29: Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theatre
8/19: Des Plaines, IL – Des Plaines Theatre ^
8/20: Grand Rapids, MI – Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater ^
8/22: Cleveland Heights, OH – Cain Park Evans Amphitheater ^
8/23: Greensburg, PA – The Palace Theatre
8/25: Washington, DC – Warner Theatre ^
8/26: Niagara Falls, ON – OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino ^
8/28: Ridgefield, CT – The Ridgefield Playhouse
8/29: Boston, MA – House of Blues Boston
8/31: Hampton Beach, NH – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
9/1: Bethlehem, PA – Wind Creek Event Center
9/3: Marietta, GA – Georgia Country Music Fest
9/14: Louisville, KY – Bourbon & Beyond
10/13: Sandy, UT – Sandy Amphitheater @
10/14: Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre @
# – with 49 Winchester
^ – with Joss Stone
* – with Larry Fleet
@ – with Midland
