The duo I didn’t know I needed. Stephen Wilson Jr. released a new song featuring Miranda Lambert today called “Hardwired,” which they wrote with Jesse Frasure and Adam Hood. If you’re unfamiliar with Stephen, he released his stellar debut bon aqua EP in 2023, which featured 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. He has an incredibly unique sound you may hear him refer to as “Death Cab for Country,” and he has noted a range of artists like Willie Nelson, Kurt Cobain, and Bruce Springsteen as his heroes, and you can definitely hear that in his music. There is no one in country music who compares to his sound, and he’s easily one of the best in mainstream country right now in my humble opinion. Weaving together so many touches from different genres is so hard to do, and he does it seamlessly and it feels so authentic and true to who he is as an artist. And another one of his favorites, The Pixies, are featured on “Hardwired,” as he interpolates part of their iconic song “Where Is My Mind?”, which is simply genius in terms of how he worked it in. The song itself finds Wilson Jr. speaking for the working-class, and how constantly keeping the pedal to the metal, so to speak, can feel relentless and exhausting, because “hard living’s for the hardwired”: “Steel toes heavy Long side of the day Winter’s on the way Like a broke down Chevy Even when it’s hard as hell The tears don’t dry themselves Head made of granite, heart made of stone Toughest on the planet, got steel in the bones Down with the crickets, up every dawn Sleeping on the couch with some caterpillars on Mud on the knuckles, tread off the tires Barbs on the flannel, got blood from the briars No sleeping for the vampires No dreaming for the damn tired Hard living’s for the hardwired” It’s fun to hear Miranda on a song like this too because it’s definitely not in her typical range (she is gearing up to release a disco-inspired album, Crisco, on October 2nd), but I absolutely love hearing them together and I hope it’s not the last time they team up for a song. Do yourself a favor and check it out: “Hardwired” Throughout the rest of the year, Wilson Jr. still has a ton of tour dates left for his Gary The Torch Tour, in addition to opening some shows as part of Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival tour. 2026 Tour Dates: 8/7 – St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre # 8/8 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater # 8/18 – Maryland Heights, MO – Outlaw Music Festival * 8/21 – East Troy, WI – Outlaw Music Festival * 8/22 – Clarkston, MI – Outlaw Music Festival * 8/23 – Noblesville, IN – Outlaw Music Festival * 8/25 – Tinley Park, IL – Outlaw Music Festival * 8/28 – Wantagh, NY – Outlaw Music Festival * 8/29 – Bethel, NY – Outlaw Music Festival * 8/30 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Outlaw Music Festival * 9/4 – George, WA – Gorge Amphitheatre ^ 9/6 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium # 9/11–9/13 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre % 9/15 – Spokane, WA – BECU Live at Northern Quest # 9/17 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre # 9/18 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre # SOLD OUT 9/19 – Portland, OR – McMenamins Grand Lodge (Concerts in the Grove) # SOLD OUT 9/22 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater # 9/24 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic # 9/29 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre # 10/1 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory # 10/2 – Helotes, TX – John T. Floore Country Store # 10/3 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall # 10/15 – Belfast, UK – SSE Arena # 10/17 – Sligo, IE – Sligo Live Festival * SOLD OUT 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 # 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 # 12/9 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy # 12/11 – Nashville, TN – The Truth # SOLD OUT 12/12 – Nashville, TN – The Truth # 1/20-23 – Cancun, MX – Dave & Tim Riviera Maya 2027 * Festival # Gary The Torch Tour ^ Supporting Dave Matthews Band % Supporting Brandi CarlileThe post Stephen Wilson Jr. And Miranda Lambert Release Working-Class Anthem, “Hardwired” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.