Release Radar & Most Anticipated Country Albums for 2025

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Welcome to 2025! Hopefully it will be a prosperous year in country music. As usual, the amount of releases coming out early in the year is a little light, but that doesn’t mean it won’t include some heavy hitters.

Below you can find a list of Saving Country Music’s top recommended albums, along with a more complete list of (most) all of the album releases, followed by the always-juicy “Rumor Mill” where hints and allegations end up.

Hint: Bookmark this page, and come back each Friday to stay up-to-date with releases. This list will be updated regularly under the “confirmed releases” heading as new albums are announced, though older albums won’t be removed from the list so people can look back at what they might have missed.

PLEASE NOTE: No artist or album was overlooked, snubbed, or disregarded here. If you know about an album to be released that you believe is of interest to country and roots music, please feel free to share the information below in the comments section for the benefit of everyone.


Ringo Starr – Look Up – January 10th

Look Up will be Ringo Starr’s first solo record in six years, and his first country record in 55 years. Most of the songs of Look Up are written by T Bone Burnett, so we’ll have to see how that turns out. But if nothing else, the album should be another interesting across-the-pond collaboration that should remind the world what a big country fan Ringo Starr actually is.

“I’ve always loved country music,” Starr says. “And when I asked T Bone to write me a song, I didn’t even think at the time that it would be a country song—but of course it was, and it was so beautiful. I had been making EPs at the time and so I thought we would do a country EP—but when he brought me nine songs I knew we had to make an album! And I am so glad we did.” (read more)

Olivia Wolf – Silver Rounds – January 17th

Produced by Sean McConnell, Olivia Wolf’s debut album is drawing lost of anticipation by combining roots-based inspirations with a more expansive cosmic sound. This can be heard in the albums debut single “Cosmic Appalachian Radio.” Many of the album’s tracks are co-written with McConnell or Taylor McCall.

“This album tells the tale of riding the cosmic waves between the earthly and the spiritual realm,” says Wolf. “The connection of light and dark are so close and divided only by a thin line, one moment can change it all. When you lose someone unexpectedly, you find a deeper connection to the spiritual world while having to exist within the earthly one. This tells the journey of trying to hold on to both of those worlds.”

Ty Myers – The Select – January 24th

Count Ty Myers as yet another super young traditional-leaning performer inexplicably blowing up out of nowhere that’s important to have on your radar. He might only be 17 years old, but he’s already sold out his first headlining tour, and his steel guitar-soaked single “Drinkin’ Alone” has 33 million streams on Spotify alone.

Of course Tik-Tok is playing a big role in his surging popularity as is often the case with these kinds of artists. He’s already signed to Columbia Records via the RECORDS imprint, and is releasing music that speaks well beyond his young age. The Select will be Ty’s debut album, and might end up as the big breakout of 2025.

The Doohickies – All Hat No Cattle – January 24th

If you enjoy the intersection of traditional country and side splitting humor, The Doohickeys will be right for you. Made up of Haley Spence Brown and Jack Hackett, this California-based project takes a cinematic approach to music, while also being self-aware and incapable of taking itself too seriously. The Doohickeys have already been making a stir online with their hilarious videos and social media posts.

All Hat No Cattle also happens to sound really great. Produced by Eric Corne, it features instrumentation by Seugene Edwards of Dwight Yoakam’s band, Aubrey Richmond on fiddle, and a bunch of other West Coast country ringers who know how to flesh out country songs.

Courtney Patton – Carry You With Me – January 24th

If Courtney Patton is singing, you shush up and listen. If Courtney Patton is releasing a new album, you pre-order it, or at least circle the date on your calendar. January 24th is one of those days to be circled. Carry You With Me was produced by Trevor Nealon and Gordy Quist of The Band of Heathens, and recorded at The Finishing School in Austin.

The title track was written by Courtney Patton’s while in Joshua Tree about her sister who was killed in an automobile accident when they both were in college. The song features the kind of depth of emotion that the songwriting of Courtney Patton carries. Carry You With Me will definitely be a big record in the songwriting and Texas Music world for 2025.

The War & Treaty – Plus One – February 14th

They’re country. They’re soul. And when Michael and Tanya Trotter are at their best, they combine these two disciplines to make the shivers go down your spine. That’s the experience of their new song “Carried Away,” which starts as a twangy baby maker, and then builds to feature soulful and soaring vocal performances in the chorus.

“Carried Away” is the first taste of what will be The War and Treaty’s expansive, 18-track new album called Plus One. To be released on Valentines Day via Mercury Nashville, it is sure to put a jolt of passion in the air. The album’s songs were produced by Jonathan Singleton, John Shanks, as well as Jesse Frasure. Plus One also boasts a couple of cool collaborations, including a co-write with Miranda Lambert, as well as an appearance by Billy Strings. (read more)

Justin Wells – Cynthiana – February 20th

The revered Kentucky songwriter and former Saving Country Music Song of the Year winner takes a very porposful and dedicated approach to his latest record, naming it after the town in Kentucky where he met his wife Andra, and releasing it on his wife’s birthday (that’s why it’s being released on a Thursday). Instead of working with a record label, the album will be self-released. It’s produced by Duane Lundy and Justin himself. He calls it a 10 song love letter.

“What I’m here to tell you is kindness ain’t weakness, social media ain’t real, and that I wrote a record for my wife,” Wells says. “I’ve got one critic that really matters to me, and she loves it … What I’m telling you is I’m here to make art.”

Tony Logue – Dark Horse – February 21st

There’s something about the punch and attitude of Tony Logue’s delivery that makes you believe every word he sings wholeheartedly. You can feel the grit beneath the fingernails, the blood drips, and the motor oil blotches that stain his music. His last two albums Jericho (2022) and The Crumbs (2023) earned high praise here at Saving Country Music, and it will be no surprise if Dark Horse does the same.

From Western Kentucky, Tony Logue’s music includes the roots of the Bluegrass State, with the heartbeat and punch of the Midwest. “We roll into 2025 sitting on my favorite record to date. Can’t wait to share it with the world,” Logue says.

The Devil Makes Three – Spirits – February 28th

With their first album in seven years, this legendary string punk band returns to their stripped-back roots, while the songs speak to deeper reflection over personal grief and thoughts of mortality. This is no surprise since it comes after a time when primary songwriter Pete Bernhard lost his mother, his brother, and a close childhood friend while making the record.

“There’s a theme of ghosts and death running through this album,” Pete Bernhard says. “The world’s in a strange place right now. A lot of the songs on this record come from that place—trying to make sense of it all, whether it’s dealing with loss, addiction, or the way people are more divided than ever. But at the end of the day, this band has always been about celebrating resilience. We’ve always found a way to push through, and wanted to reflect that in this album.” 

Sean McConnell – Skin – February 28th

Sean McConnell has always been sort of an enigma in the country world. Along with releasing his own critically-acclaimed albums that veer much more into the Americana realm, he’s written songs for mainstream names like Tim McGraw, Brothers Osborne and Ashley McBryde, as well as more independent names like Hayes Carll.

Whether you consider yourself an established Sean McConnell fan or just McConnell curious, Skin is an album you shouldn’t let slip by. As McConnell proves with the title track, he finds an even deeper level of introspection than before, and perhaps a more rootsy and organic sound.

Jason Boland and the Stragglers – The Last Kings of Babylon – March 14th

25 years doing anything is nothing to scoff at, especially when it’s in the hardscrabble business of music. Neither is being one of the true originators of Red Dirt music like Jason Boland and the Stragglers. Since 1998, they’ve been defying odds, helping to define the indefinable sound of Red Dirt, and doing it without the aid of Nashville.

Now Jason Boland is gearing up to release the eleventh album in his arsenal, The Last Kings of Babylon. To produce the album, Boland and the boys return to where it all began with legendary Texas/Red Dirt producer Lloyd Maines who also produced the band’s debut. It shouldn’t come as a surprise there’s a mood of reflection in the air celebrating 25 years of making music. (read more)

ANTICIPATED/CONFIRMED RELEASES


January 10th

(1/7) – Diane Coll – Up From The Mud – (Folk/Americana)
Ringo Starr – Look Up
Nolan Taylor – Self-Titled
Luke Trimble – Headed out the Holler
Early James – Medium Raw (Americana)
Todd Day Wait – Goodbye EP
Jason Eady – Mississippi (Unplugged) (Acoustic album)
John R. Miller – Heat Comes Down (Deluxe edition)
Stephen Wilson Jr. – son of dad (Deluxe Edition)

January 17th

Cave Flowers – Western Spectre
Josh Ward – Same Ol’ Cowboy, Different Rodeo
Willow Avalon – Southern Belle Raisin‘ Hell
Johnny Marfa and The Lights – Take Me Back to Texas
Olivia Wolf – Silver Rounds (Cosmic Americana)
Crys Matthews – Reclamation (Social justice country)
49 Winchester – 49 Winchester, The Wind, & III – (Vinyl Releases)

January 24th

Ty Myers – The Select
Canaan Smith – Chickahominy
Courtney Patton – Carry You With Me
Josh Mitcham – A Few Cries and a Laugh
The Doohickeys – All Hat No Cattle
Drew & Ellie Holcomb – Memory Bank
Tennessee Jet – Ranchero
Rose City Band – Sol Y Sombra (cosmic country)
Mary Chapin Carpenter, Julie Fowlis, Karine Polwart – Looking For The Thread
Roger Street Friedman – Long Shadows (Americana)
John Calvin – Greener Fields & Fairer Seas (Americana)
Larkin Poe – Bloom (Rock, Americana)
Yahtzee Brown – You Got This (Americana)
Lucero – Lucero Unplugged – (“reimagined” songs) (Rock, Americana)
John Mailander’s Forecast – Let The World In (experimental, bluegrass)
Evan Westfall (Caamp) – Is This Our Exit? (Instrumental)
(1-23) Glad You’re Here On Air: Volume 1 (Compilation)

January 31st

(1/30) Lily Talmers – It Is Cynical, Missing You (folk)
Dave Murphy – A Heart So Rare
Nefesh Mountain – Beacons
Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Purple Bird (Americana)
Lilly Hiatt – Forever (Americana)
Drayton Farley – Live and Acoustic
Sierra Ferrell – Trail of Flowers (Deluxe Edition)
Trinelise Væring – A Songwriter’s Odyssey (Americana/Nordicana)
(2/1) CJ Hooper – Primero

February 7th

(2/4) Massy Ferguson – You Can’t Tell Me I’m Not What I Used To Be
(2/5) Steve Bowling/Red Idle Rejects – New Striped Shirt
Horsebath – Another Farewell
Joel Timmons – Psychedelic Surf Country
Guy Clark – Looking For The Words: Live at the U of H Coffee House
Miss Tess – Cher Rêve
Sean Thompson – Head in the Sand (Hipster Country)
Ian Fisher – Go Gentle (Americana)
Zack Keim – Battery Lane – (Indie folk)

February 14th

Sara Bug – Into The Blue
The War & Treaty – Plus One (country soul)
TopHouse – Practice (folk/Americana)
Chatham Rabbits – Be Real With Me
Bill Medley – Straight From The Heart
Ron Pope – American Man, American Music
Neil Young – Oceanside Countryside (‘Lost’ album from 1977)
The Delines – Mr. Luck & Mrs. Doom (Americana)
Ian Fisher – Go Gentle (Americana)
Dean Owens – Spirit Ridge (Americana)

February 21st

(2-20) Justin Wells – Cynthiana
Tony Logue – Dark Horse
Cristina Vane – Hear My Call
Sunny War – Armageddon in a Summer Dress
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band – Honeysuckle
Garrett Bradford – Honkiest of Tonkers Pt.1
Patterson Hood – Exploding Trees and Airplane Screams (Americana)
Max Wareham – DAGGOMIT! (bluegrass)
Ray Duncan – Laundromat EP (rock, Americana)
Randall King – Neon (Unplugged) – (Acoustic album)

February 28th

The Devil Makes Three – Spirits
Them Coulee Boys – No Fun In The Chrysalis
Cimarron 615 – Self Titled
Sean McConnell – Skin
A. Lee Edwards – Interpreting Heart Sounds
Chris Berardo – Wilder All The Time
Kip Moore – Solitary Tracks
Julia Belle – John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project Vol. 2 (bluegrass, old-time)
Red Sky July – Misty Morning (folk)

March 7th

Caylee Hammack – Bed Of Roses
Jason Isbell – Foxes in the Snow (solo acoustic)
Mike Farris – The Sound of Muscle Shoals (Americana)

March 14th

Jason Boland and the Stragglers – The Last Kings of Babylon
Nether Hour – Moonshine
The Seldom Scene – Remains To Be Scene (bluegrass)

March 21st

Olivia Ellen Lloyd – Do It Myself
Tommy Emmanuel – Live at the Sydney Opera House
David Ramirez – All The Not So Gentle Reminders (Americana)

March 28th

Pug Johnson – El Cabron
Mumford & Sons – Rushmere
Rachel Brooke – Sings Sad Songs

April 4th

Shane Alexander – Forever Songs
Ashleigh Flynn & The Riveters – Good Morning Sunshine
The Mallett Brothers Band – Higher Up in the Hills

April 11th

Garrett Bradford – Honkiest of Tonkers Pt.2
Jon Pardi – Honkytonk Hollywood
Trousdale – Growing Pains (country pop)
The Wildwoods – Dear Meadowlark EP (folk)

April 18th

John Howie Jr. – The Return of…John Howie Jr. & the Rosewood Bluff

April 25th

The Barlow – High Spirits
Blue Cactus – Believer

May 2nd

The Talbott Brothers – Borderlands
Samantha Crain – Gumshoe (indie rock, Americana)

June 13th

Dee White – Heart Talkin’

THE RUMOR MILL


Alison Krauss and Union Station will reunite in the studio for the first time since 2011’s Paper Airplane on an album that might be called Arcadia.

At their December shows at Billy Bob’s Texas, Evan Felker of the Turnpike Troubadours said they would have a new album in 2025.

Charles Wesley Godwin at the Grand Ole Opry in December, “We recorded an EP throughout the course of the year so we’re gonna have some new music coming out early next year.”

Kristina Murray has a new album in the works with a potential release in the spring/summer of 2025.

You won’t be surprised to hear Charley Crockett has a new album coming out in 2025, but you might be surprised who produced it. Stay tuned.

Ned LeDoux will have a new album produced by Mac McAnally out in “early 2025.”

Whitey Morgan has been working with Shooter Jennings on new music, and recently released his first new song in years, “Let Me Roll.” Expect a proper album announcement for 2025.

Colter Wall told Dale Brisby in December that he’s finished up a new album that he calls a “love letter to country” that is full of sad songs. The album consists of all originals and one cover. No name yet, but Colter thinks it will be out in July or August.

Jon Pardi is likely to have a new album, potentially to be called Honkytonk Hollywood to coincide with his tour of the same name.

The Wood Brothers have been in the studio working on a new album.

Kix Brooks says Brooks & Dunn might be working on new, original music in the future (read more), and expects to have a new album out in the next couple of years.

After taking significant time off since 2017, Jackson Taylor and the Sinners say they are working on a new album slated for June or July, and are looking to tour more in 2025.

Kelsey Waldon was spotted in the studio in Memphis in late November.

Rumor is that Charlie Marie is recording a new album with hopes of a 2025 release.

Ray Wylie Hubbard: “Warning: the new record is not the pretty girl singing Jolene at the national finals rodeo in Las Vegas..its the Huntsville prison rodeo when the death row clown gets gored distracting the bull away from the arsonist who got thrown.”

David Quinn will have a new album produced by Adam Odor “at the end of January.” New song “Easy Rider” out now.

An album of previously-unheard songs from Luke Bell is in the works to go along with an upcoming documentary.

Them Dirty Roses will have Lost In The Valley of Hate & Love Vol. 2 in “May of 2025.”

Brad Paisley was supposed to have a new album coming out called Son of the Mountains that was a return to his West Virginia roots. But after the first four songs were released in EP form in September of 2023, not much else has happened. Unfortunately with some mainstream country performers, if something doesn’t show promise commercially, it gets shelved. We’ll have to see if anything materializes with the project in the future.

© 2025 Saving Country Music

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