Wyatt Flores Has The “It” Factor

Now that a red head from the Kentucky holler is out there selling out arenas, and a retired Navy guy from Oklahoma is doing the same with stadium dates—and neither with any meaningful support from radio or any other mainstream apparatus—it’s an entirely new era in country music.
Major labels are throwing cash around like mad, scouring Appalachia and looking for anyone out in the woods screaming into condenser mics about coal and cocaine, and canvassing the dirt between Stillwater and Tahlequah for most any kid who can write a song and sing it.
The labels know they won’t hit big on all of these prospects. But the ones that do hit will make the label’s money back ten fold. Now the issue is sifting through the chaff to find the wheat, separating the originators from the doppelgangers, and worrying about if all this is becoming some sort of hyper-trend or bubble that will ultimately burst and be made fun of like the Mumford & Sons arc of the late aughts.
Though so much of the appeal for this music is predicated on the almost amateurish and relatable “everyman” nature of many of these performers, it’s also what leaves this trend exposed in some respects. If anyone can do it, then what makes it remarkable?
But Wyatt Flores from Oklahoma has everything many of the other guys don’t, which is a refined ear, a more polished sound, and an actual production sense, while still delivering those cutting lines that make the music feel so much more visceral and reverberative than the mainstream product. Wyatt Flores is not the typical species of the country music insurgency. He’s a rare one.
As appealing as the raw and unpolished sound clearly is, it’s going to be the artists who are still able to score high on conventional musical gradients like singing ability, melody sense, and instrumentation who will survive. This is what will insulate certain performers from the wild mood swings of the zeitgeist. Where a guy like Zach Bryan and Oliver Anthony are excelling despite these traditional musical attributes, Wyatt Flores is separating himself from the heard because of them.
Flores has just issued a new seven song EP called Life Lessons. It’s a little hard to know how to regard this—if it’s supposed to be considered a preliminary EP that will feed into a bigger album like major labels love to do with newer artists, or if it’s meant to stand alone. At one point Wyatt was saying it would be 2024 when his big debut album would come. Flores is signed to Island Records as part of Universal Music.
The songs range from entertaining, to heartbreaking, to outright awe-inspiring. But they’re also thrown together in sort of a hodgepodge manner in some respects, with a upbeat song about Wyatt being the mascot of his high school’s football team thrown in between much deeper material. This is one of many things that makes you think this might be a precursor or a test balloon to a bigger album project still in development.
If there is a common thread throughout these songs, it’s that many of them come directly from Wyatt’s experience as an up-and-coming artist traveling across the country, trying to make a name for himself while still trying to suss out who he is and who he wants to be as an artist and person. This is a tall order for anyone, especially for an artist such as Wyatt who’s chosen to underpin his career by paying dues on the road as opposed to being foisted into big opportunities from the start.
“Orange Bottles,” “3/13,” and “West of Tulsa” are perfect specimens for the type of incisive and insightful writing that has put Wyatt Flores at the forefront of songwriting’s future. For some, these songs may be a little too “inside baseball” about the manic life of an up-and-coming entertainer out on the road. But they also speak to the indecisiveness chased with crippling worry that grips so many of us in modern times, especially young men and women who seem to be finding the most appeal in Wyatt.
One of the great things about Wyatt Flores is that he knows his strengths as a songwriter, but also his limitations. He’s not afraid of the co-write to help tighten up phrases, while also avoiding the committee-write that so often results in cliches and the obfuscation of the original inspiration for a song. With cuss words and cutting moments commercial radio could never handle, Wyatt Flores keeps it real, while also fostering widespread appeal by delivering introspective moments that resonate universally.
Though the musical approach to Life Lessons in some respects feels a bit unfocused, the result is a diverse and engaging experience for the audience. “Orange Bottles” employees the common country rock Red Dirt approach. The next song “Life Lessons” has a very rootsy and acoustical approach almost akin to bluegrass.
“Holes” sounds like singer-songwriter Americana. The final song “Astronaut” could be the scratch track to a rock song until it turns spacey at the end. It’s the songs that define the Wyatt Flores experience. Whether he’s probing the influences of American roots to find his eventual sound or just wants to keep things spicy, it’s certainly keeps you on your toes. It’s also worth noting that Wyatt co-produces all of his work.
Wyatt Flores and his team have been leveraging Tik-Tok to promote his music as opposed to more conventional means. But unlike performers such as Warren Zeiders or Bailey Zimmerman who also came up through social media appeal, Flores has also developed deep grass roots that will withstand any seismic shifts in social media algorithms. Similar to Zach Bryan, seeing Flores live is like a modern version of Beatlemania. His fans know every single word to every one of his songs.
There’s a chance we’ll see most or all of the songs from this Life Lessons EP again in another release, and it’s always hard to review the same songs twice. But it also feels irresponsible to ignore what Wyatt Flores is doing, and how he is doing it.
If you see the appeal of artists such as Zach Bryan, Oliver Anthony and others, but just can’t get on board because it all feels too unfocused and unrefined, Wyatt Flores is where you should point your nose next.
November 27, 2023 @ 9:11 am
With the upbringing he had, it’s no wonder he hit the ground running. Grow up in Stillwater area and his ties to local artists…. Learned early on that it wouldn’t be easy and the songs are what will sustain a career… looking forward to watching his next moves
November 29, 2023 @ 12:35 pm
Watching this new group do so well makes me wonder how Stoney Larue and some of those guys might have fared if they were coming up now. The late 90s and early aughts were a fun time to life in Stillwater, but those guys didn’t seem to get much reach outside of Payne County and Texas. Glad these new artists are doing well and getting lots of attention.
November 27, 2023 @ 9:43 am
Savingbadpopmusic.com
November 27, 2023 @ 9:56 am
Sick burn dude!
November 27, 2023 @ 9:49 am
I LOVE his sound, I am looking forward to hearing more from Wyatt!
November 27, 2023 @ 9:53 am
Could not agree more Trigger – he definitely has “IT.” His lyrics are just so damn straightforward, no fancy metaphors or flowery poetry. The best word I can find to describe “3/13” is visceral. On first listen it gave me that same feeling right in my guts like “The ‘59 Sound” by Gaslight or “Lost in the Flood” by Springsteen. “Now there’s blood on the windshield and credit cards on the floor and I’m crawling’ out the window of my passenger door…” Brutal, raw, devastating…..visceral.
November 27, 2023 @ 12:10 pm
On a first listen to 3/13 it’s very good. And you’re right that it touches on the Springsteen song ‘ Lost in the Flood’ and Gaslight sound. I’d add that I heard some Jackson Brown influence there too.
It’s impossible to accurately predict if this will lead to the mainstream appeal of Childers or Bryan,
November 27, 2023 @ 11:19 am
Am I right in thinking Wyatt Flores has a strong Casey Donahew / Texas Country influence in his vocals? I’ve never been a fan of that style which is a shame. Wish I could appreciate Wyatt’s creative effort. I’ll have to give it another listen.
November 27, 2023 @ 11:47 am
Ben, I’m sure there’s some Texas country influence given where he’s from but I don’t find him leaning towards a Wade Bowen/Randy Rogers delivery. He’s got some real grit in his voice and can lean into a growl as well. For me he lands between Tyler Childers and Zach Bryan vocally but that’s just my non-musical ears. “Wildcat” gave me a Muscadine Bloodline feel on first listen. I live on Texas country and I wouldn’t slot Wyatt firmly in that lane. His voice is not perfect which gives it character in my book.
November 27, 2023 @ 11:59 am
Tiktok is now the normal means of promotion. I can’t remember the source but record execs want to know the tiktok following of artists before signing them. Zack Bryan using youtube is old-school now. My gosh discovering a new artist on terrestrial radio harkens back to the mid 2000’s.
November 27, 2023 @ 1:22 pm
It’s been interesting seeing and hearing how the popular (and most imitated) sounds in indie country music have morphed over the years according to the buzziest artists of the time – from Sturgill, to Childers, now Zack Bryan.
The sounds seem to be going in a younger, poppier, and dare I say more “emo” direction? Not exactly a high and lonesome sound but a high-pitched whine nonetheless – aimed at teenage girls and the boys trying to get in their jeans? Not my thing, but fair play. Music genres always need an influx of young people to stay alive and relevant.
November 27, 2023 @ 2:34 pm
there s definitely an “emo” spin on those artists. I liked this EP a lot anyhow.
November 27, 2023 @ 1:56 pm
He is no Zach Top.
November 28, 2023 @ 8:51 am
…Or Jake Bush, Wyatt McCubbin, Dan Alley, Jesse Raub, Jr….
(and my roots are planted in the dirt between Stillwater and Tahlequah)
I like Wyatt Flores enough, I’ll give it some more listens to see if it grows on me but so far, just ok.
November 27, 2023 @ 3:47 pm
“Wildcat” was hilarious. “West of Tulsa” tried to say something.
The rest of the EP was watered-down emo whining.
November 27, 2023 @ 4:48 pm
I like this kid a lot but feel this album falls short of these 4 previously released songs that really had me fired up for an LP: Break My Bones, Losing Sleep, Please Don’t Go, and Travellin’ Kid. If you aren’t sold on the new EP listen to those other tracks. I think he’s the real deal.
November 27, 2023 @ 7:40 pm
I saw Joshua Quimby and Jayce Turley live recently as opening acts (I went specifically to see Quimby and Turley opened for JRW w/the Texas Gentleman) They were both really good young guys, check them out.
November 28, 2023 @ 5:14 am
I haven’t given him a good listen yet, but I just might have to. It will be interesting to see if any of these artists actually find traction on radio.
November 29, 2023 @ 5:54 am
…amazing – well, actually not – how quickly the zach bryan clones show up. even though wyattt flores seems to have dropped from the same mould, i like what i hear quite a bit. the irish/celts might as well. and the “star wars” producers also may have found the perfect guy for adam drivers part in any potential prequel.
November 29, 2023 @ 7:42 am
I was a bit curious about Wyatt with all the attention he has been receiving, but up to the EP nothing really caught my attention. I added Life Lessons to give it a couple listens and see if it would catch my ear. Honestly, I initially liked the song Wildcat and threw it in a playlist, but am now realizing I never went back to the EP after the initial listen.
I have to agree with some of the comments about the vocals being a bit teenage or “emo” sounding. His voice reminds me a bit of one of my daughter’s teenage favorites in Shawn Mendez. Maybe if Shawn had been born in Oklahoma instead of Canada he would have sounded like Wyatt lol. He’s young, so I guess it’s somewhat to be expected.
Overall, I can’t say for me that Wyatt Flores is currently someone that is a must listen, but his music is good enough that I think he has the potential to maybe land there some day.
November 29, 2023 @ 10:25 am
Kinda assumed this commentariat wouldn’t take a liking to WF.
Of course it’s a bunch of overly emotional, 3/4 chord tap alongs. It’s music made by a 22 year old. It’s not going to sound like a Dale Watson track.
The impressive part is that the writing is great and the songs are catchy. It’s the same thing that drove the Zach Bryan success that people kept willfully overlooking.
Trig is right that this kid seems to have “It” and I think he’ll continue to prove it in the years to come.
November 29, 2023 @ 11:06 pm
Pretty much the way I feel.
November 29, 2023 @ 11:22 pm
If this is the direction Country Music is gonna go (maybe, maybe not) then I’m willing to go with it.
Sounds pretty good to me.
December 13, 2023 @ 11:58 am
Love the first couple songs on the album, but Wildcat is just a straight rip off of Blind Melon’s Change…