He doesn’t miss. In a year full of breakouts across both the independent scene and the mainstream alike, ranging from the likes of Ella Langley and Zach Top to The Red Clay Strays and Treaty Oak Revival, Stephen Wilson Jr. undoubtedly experienced one of the biggest ones in 2025. Of course, fans of the independent scene have been quite familiar with him over the past few years. After delivering his stellar debut on his bon aqua EP, featuring 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. Last November, he put the entire public on notice of his talent when he was not only nominated for New Artist of the Year at the 59th CMA Awards but also took to the stage to deliver his stunning reimagining of Ben E. King’s 1961 classic, “Stand By Me.” Along with The Red Clay Strays, who also had a big night and introduced themselves to a wider audience with a killer performance of their current single, “People Hatin’,” it seemed like the “I’m A Song” singer had his “moment” at the CMAs. He’d keep the momentum going in 2026 as well. After dropping “Gary” at the end of the year, which has been climbing the charts since, Wilson Jr. would score his first-ever ACM Award last month, taking home Visual Media of the Year for his cinematic music video for “Cuckoo.” It’s safe to say it’s been a pretty busy last few weeks for Wilson Jr. After scoring the ACM back in May, yesterday, he delivered a killer set at the Riverfront Stage at CMA Fest in Nashville. The set, which included past hits like “Gary,” “Cuckoo” and “I’m A Song,” came to an incredible conclusion when the Indiana native made his way to the crowd to shred an extended outro of “Gary.” View this post on Instagram Less than 12 hours later, Wilson Jr. would return with his brand new single, “Preacher’s Kid.” Spoiler alert: it’s yet another winner from the scientist-turned-country star. View this post on Instagram Written independently by Wilson Jr., “Preacher’s Kid” takes aim at the hypocrisy often found in the church, especially among titular preacher’s kids. Holding zero punches, he comes out of the gate firing, remarking that he “don’t give a damn about you or Jesus.” “Preacher’s kid don’t give a damn about you or Jesus He’s got cocaine on his nose thinks no one sees it Yeah, he’s a special kind of phony Says he’s working on his testimony for later he’ll ride out a cloud of sin” Delivering even more biting commentary in the chorus, the 46-year-old singer/songwriter calls the titular character a “Sunday morning tongue speaker” who hooked up with his teacher, contrasting his sins with the facade he puts up to cover them up. “He’s the Wednesday night youth leader Sunday morning tongue speaker Hooked up with his school teacher Swear it’s like nobody knows” Undoubtedly, it’s a fascinating song lyrically that touches on the hypocrisy that a lot of members of the church have experienced at some point or another in their lives among their peers. These lyrics are complemented beautifully by Wilson Jr.’s patented grungy, southern rock sound, which sounds better and more unique than ever here. Biting, both lyrically and sonically, “Preacher’s Kid” is nothing short of a must-listen from Wilson Jr. “Preacher’s Kid” Stephen Wilson Jr. Tour Dates 7/17 – Spokane, WA – BECU Live at Northern Quest 7/24 – Virginia Beach, VA – The Dome by Rutter Mills 7/25 – Baltimore, MD – Pier Six Pavilion 8/7 – St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre 8/8 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater 9/6 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium 9/18 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre 9/19 – Portland, OR – McMenamins Grand Lodge (Concerts in the Grove) 9/22 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater 9/24 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic 9/29 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre 10/15 – Belfast, UK – SSE Arena 10/19 – Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy Glasgow 10/22 – London, UK – O2 Academy Brixton 10/23 – Bristol, UK – The Prospect Building 10/25 – Manchester, UK – O2 Victoria Warehouse 10/27 – Paris, FR – Le Trianon 10/29 – Zurich, CH – Volkshaus 10/30 – Cologne, DE – Theater am Tanzbrunnen 11/1 – Utrecht, NL – TivoliVredenburg (Ronda) 11/3 – Copenhagen, DK – VEGA 11/4 – Stockholm, SE – Fållan 11/5 – Oslo, NO – Sentrum Scene 11/21 – Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewing Company 12/2 – Pittsburgh, PA – Citizens Live at The Wylie 12/9 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy 12/11 – Nashville, TN – The TruthThe post Stephen Wilson Jr. Takes Aim At False Prophets In Killer New Song, “Preacher’s Kid” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.