This week’s crop of new music features a surging and steamy new video from Riley Green, while Lainey Wilson teams with Myles Smith for a countrified version of his 2024 hit “Nice to Meet You.” This week’s slate of new music also features songs from Dierks Bentley, Muscadine Bloodline, Tigirlily Gold and bluegrass duo Nefesh Mountain.
Riley Green, “Worst Way”
Green released “Worst Way” as part of his 2024 album Don’t Mind If I Do, but the song has surged on the strength of his risqué, passionate video for the track. That clip has garnered more than 2.3 million views on YouTube, rising to the top of YouTube’s trending music video list. The video is primarily sensuous, but also adds in some mood-lightening humor — in one scene, couple draws stares as they take their romance to a public restaurant, with one grandmotherly-type older woman looking on in clear amusement and fascination. Elsewhere, the couple recreates the humorous kitchen scene from the 1988 movie Bill Durham. Musically, the song makes it clear he can deliver a sultry country track with aplomb.
Myles Smith and Lainey Wilson, “Nice to Meet You”
Grammy winner and four-time Country Airplay hitmaker Wilson teams with “Stargazing” hitmaker Myles Smith for a country revamp of Smith’s 2024 hit. In this song, he’s nearly ready to head home from a night at the bar, when a chance meeting develops into a chance to spend the night dancing away their worries. Wilson’s signature soul-twang vocal is front and center and meshes well with Smith’s smooth, pop voice, bolstered by stomps, handclaps and laid-back but hooky, folk-pop groove. Given the plethora of pop-country fusions that have proven bona fide hits over the past few years, look for this track to make an impact.
Dierks Bentley, “She Hates Me”
Bentley is known for his trademark humor on hits such as “Drunk on a Plane,” and he puts plenty more of that comedic side on display on his this radio-ready song, the Valentine’s Day-released “She Hates Me.” This polished country track finds Bentley offering a tale of a guy who ruefully realizes that his dreams reviving a former romance have been derailed by one thing — or several things. In fact, she despises nearly everything about him, from his dog and his hair, to his truck and his music. This is classic, comedic Bentley.
Nefesh Mountain, Beacons
Married duo Eric Lindberg and Doni Zasloff highlight the through-lines between bluegrass and Americana on this two-part project, with Zasloff’s pristine, airy vocal leading this 18-song musical tapestry that runs through songs about trusting in the meaning of regrets (“Regrets in the Rearview”), the Rodney Crowell classic “Song for the Life,” and the fleet-fingered, fiddle-fueled “This Is Me.” They take inspiration from not only their personal journey, but current events, on the clear-eyed but optimistic “Better Angels,” fusing traditional bluegrass song constructions with modern lyrical inspirations–and proving both the depth and breadth of their musicianship in the process. Further evincing their musical acumen, they are joined by a top-notch group of collaborators throughout, including pedal steel guitarist Greg Leisz, dobro player Jerry Douglas, mandolinist Sam Bush, banjoist Rob McCoury, guitarist Cody Kilby, fiddle player Stuart Duncan and bassist Mark Schatz, crafting a project that feels wholly progressive and creatively complex.
Tigirlily Gold, “Forever From Here”
This balmy new love song, fueled by jangly, breezy acoustics, serves as both a love song and a love letter to this sister duo’s North Dakota roots. Lyrically, the song brims with imagery of rural living — wide open plains, John Deere tractors and glowing red sunsets — while the song’s protagonist dreams of building a family and a future in those same, slow-rolling rural settings. “Forever From Here” was written by the duo’s Krista and Kendra Slaubaugh, along with co-writers Pete Good and Shane McAnally.
Muscadine Bloodline, “Chickasaw Church of Christ”
This duo returns with this acoustic-driven song from their upcoming album, … And What Was Left Behind, out April 11. Here, the song’s protagonist knows a breakup is unavoidable as his lover is moving away, but he still wants to see if one last meetup will lead to a spark for old time’s sake. Written by Muscadine Bloodline’s Gary Stanton, this tender, yearning track embodies both heartbreak and lingering love — paying tribute to the love the couple had, as Stanton expresses his determination to make the most of the rapidly dwindling time they still have together.
