A beautiful tribute to his late father.
Stephen Wilson Jr. released a new song today called “Cørnerman,” which commemorates the third anniversary of his debut double album søn of dad, and is a deeply personal tribute to his father on the eight-year anniversary of his passing.
If you’re unfamiliar with Stephen, he released his stellar debut bon aqua EP in 2023, which featured the likes of “American Gothic” and “Year to Be Young 1994.” In June of 2023, Wilson Jr. made himself known in a big way just six months later with his mammoth, 22-track debut album, Søn of Dad.
He has an incredibly unique sound you may hear him refer to as “Death Cab for Country,” and he has noted a range of artists like Willie Nelson, Kurt Cobain, and Bruce Springsteen as his heroes, and you can definitely hear that in his music. There is no one in country music who compares to his sound, and he’s easily one of the best in mainstream country right now in my humble opinion. Weaving together so many touches from different genres is so hard to do, and he does it seamlessly and it feels so authentic and true to who he is as an artist.
Wilson lost his father in 2018, and he previously told Rolling Stone about that horrific day, when he was driving through Kentucky to try to get home to say goodbye before it was too late. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it to be there in person, but he recalled their emotional last phone call:
“I said goodbye to my dad on an iPhone 8 in my car in the middle of Kentucky. His last words to me were ‘Write a good song for me’ and then he said, ‘I love you’ four times.”
Wilson has written many songs about his grief and what ti was like to lose his father, who raised him and his siblings as a single father in Seymour, Indiana. He was an amateur boxer and a two-time Indiana State Golden Gloves Champion, and worked as a second-generation auto body mechanic and drove a bus to support their family.
The solo write by Wilson Jr. finds him wondering why his father had to go, and trying to grapple with such a monumental hole in his heart, even though some time has passed now:
“Why, why did you die young?
Why you? Damn you
Hell, my head’s still rung
Shot to the body, right to the body
Ribs left broken, too much left unspoken
I stood frozen
Didn’t get to say goodbye like you should
Hey nothing about you gone is any good
Where are you, tell me where are you?
I still need you in my corner, man
Tell me to stop dropping my right hand
Bob and weave, duck, don’t run
When that bell rings, son, a rumble’s begun
No matter what
The fight has to go on as planned
But I still need you
I still need you in my corner, man”
The grief from a loss like that is something I can only imagine, and I have a feeling fans who have experienced a similar loss are going to love it. Check it out:
“Cørnerman”
Wilson Jr. earned four nominations at this year’s 60th Annual CMA Awards for both Song and Music Video of the Year for “Gary,” as well as for the accompanying video. He was also nominated for New Artist and Male Vocalist of the Year.
He released a song with Miranda Lambert called “Hardwired” in July:
“Hardwired”
Throughout the rest of the year, Wilson Jr. still has a ton of tour dates left for his Gary The Torch Tour, in addition to opening some shows as part of Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival tour.
2026 Tour Dates:
9/15 – Spokane, WA – BECU Live at Northern Quest #
9/17 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre #
9/18 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre # SOLD OUT
9/19 – Portland, OR – McMenamins Grand Lodge (Concerts in the Grove) # SOLD OUT
9/22 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater #
9/24 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic # SOLD OUT
9/29 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre #
10/1 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory #
10/2 – Helotes, TX – John T. Floore’s Country Store #
10/3 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall #
10/15 – Belfast, UK – SSE Arena #
10/17 – Sligo, IE – Sligo Live Festival * SOLD OUT
10/19 – Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy Glasgow # SOLD OUT
10/20 – Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy Glasgow # SOLD OUT
10/22 – London, UK – O2 Academy Brixton # SOLD OUT
10/23 – Bristol, UK – The Prospect Building # SOLD OUT
10/25 – Manchester, UK – O2 Victoria Warehouse # SOLD OUT
10/27 – Paris, FR – Le Trianon #
10/29 – Zurich, CH – Volkshaus #
10/30 – Cologne, DE – Theater am Tanzbrunnen # SOLD OUT
11/1 – Utrecht, NL – TivoliVredenburg (Ronda) # SOLD OUT
11/3 – Copenhagen, DK – VEGA # SOLD OUT
11/4 – Stockholm, SE – Fållan # SOLD OUT
11/5 – Oslo, NO – Sentrum Scene # SOLD OUT
11/20–11/22 – St. Petersburg, FL – St. Pete Country Fest *
11/21 – Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewing Company # SOLD OUT
12/2 – Pittsburgh, PA – Citizens Live at The Wylie #
12/3 – Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre at Old National Centre # SOLD OUT
12/5 – Cincinnati, OH – Andrew J Brady Music Center # SOLD OUT
12/9 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy # SOLD OUT
12/11 – Nashville, TN – The Truth # SOLD OUT
12/12 – Nashville, TN – The Truth # SOLD OUT
1/20-23 – Cancun, MX – Dave & Tim Riviera Maya 2027
4/24 – Indio, CA – Stagecoach 2027
* Festival
# Gary The Torch Tour
% Supporting Brandi Carlile
