About the two new songs, Wilson Jr. says,
“‘yellow brick home’ is the choosing and accepting a world where an existence of familiar chaos is seemingly more entertaining than the chase and catch of money & modern riches. the real wealth being the fury of forces unknown & tagging along for the ride because that’s all this really is. “A real green sky is a real mean guy.” and he can’t wait to meet him. ‘Exorcisms on the Weekend’ introduces a misunderstood, small town anti-hero who doesn’t shy away from helping others in her own way. Wielding weapons of fearless faith & oppositional defiance to religious and worldly norms.”Recently, Wilson Jr. earned
four nominations at the
60th Annual CMA Awards, making him one of the year’s top nominees. His nominations include both
Song and
Music Video of the Year for his single
‘Gary’, which he was the sole songwriter on, and for the accompanying
video, which he co-directed with
Tim Cofield. He also receives recognition in both the
New Artist and
Male Vocalist of the Year categories.
Last month, Eddie Vedder joined Stephen Wilson Jr. on stage for a duet of Temple of the Dog’s ‘Hunger Strike’, with Rolling Stone declaring this “cemented his status as a grunge-country pioneer”. Wilson Jr. also commemorated the third anniversary of his debut double album søn of dad with ‘Cørnerman’, a deeply personal tribute to his father on the eight-year anniversary of his passing.
Over the summer, Wilson Jr. released a string of new music including the Miranda Lambert-assisted ‘Hardwired’, which Billboard hailed as an “ode to blue-collar workers of all stripes”, ‘Gary’ (Live From CMA Fest 2026) and ‘Preacher’s Kid’, which was named a Song You Need To Know by Rolling Stone.
Throughout the rest of the year, Wilson Jr. will tour the US and Europe on his headline Gary The Torch Tour that will culminate with two sold-out shows at The Truth in Nashville on December 11 and 12. Find a full list of tour dates below or visit his website.
Tour Dates:
10/17 – Castlebar, IE – TF Royal Theatre #
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
ABOUT STEPHEN WILSON JR.
Stephen Wilson Jr.’s journey from the hollers of southern Indiana to Nashville, Tenn. has been a winding road that’s taken many detours: He’s been an Indiana State Golden Gloves boxing championship finalist, a scientist, and a lead guitarist and songwriter in an indie rock band.
In 2016, he ditched his laboratory 9-to-5 and signed a publishing deal with BMG Nashville where his alchemic songcraft immediately made waves, leading to cuts from Caitlyn Smith, Old Dominion, Tim McGraw, Sixpence None the Richer, Leigh Nash and more. 2023 proved to be Wilson Jr.’s breakthrough year, signing with Big Loud Records and releasing his critically-acclaimed debut double album søn of dad: a triumphant, genre-spanning set of 22 songs dedicated to his late father and given to the world on the five-year anniversary of his passing. In 2024, Stephen’s star grew as he made his network television debut on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers, followed by performances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s #LateShowMeMusic series and Later…with Jools Holland. Ahead of the one-year anniversary of søn of dad, Wilson Jr. was also profiled in an extensive feature for CBS Saturday Morning, and last year, he released a deluxe edition of the album which featured a moving interpretation of ‘Stand By Me’ that has been streamed tens of millions of times.
Last November, he earned his first CMA Award nomination for New Artist of the Year and played twice on the broadcast – a moving performance of his song ‘Took A Walk’ from the film The Long Walk with Shaboozey and a star-making rendition of ‘Stand By Me’. To close out the year, he released new single ‘Gary’, which he debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and is currently climbing the country radio charts. Fresh off his first ACM Award win for Visual Media of the Year for the video for his song ‘Cuckoo’, Stephen is currently in the midst of his Gary The Torch Tour headline tour that extends through December across the US and Europe/UK. In September, he shared the stage with Dave Matthews Band at The Gorge Amphitheatre and Brandi Carlile for three nights at Red Rocks.
