Today, the Southern Indiana-born, Nashville-based artist Stephen Wilson Jr. released new single “patches” from his upcoming debut double album søn of dad, out September 15 via Big Loud Records. With its deceptively breezy melody and easygoing chorus underscored by melancholic slide guitars, the song touches upon the importance of learning to live with the scars, scratches and holes in our lives. Today, Wilson also announced that he will join The Lone Bellow on tour for another string of dates this winter.
Stream “patches”
Watch the official visualizer for “patches” via YouTube
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Of the song, Wilson shares: “My scars got scars. Graffiti on graffiti on graffiti. ‘patches’ is a playful song with a serious message. A life lived not avoided. øne packaged with consequences and fibrosis. A built-in collagen-based repair system showing the world the road map to where we’ve been. Wearing scars we’ve earned like we’ve earned ‘em.”
Informed by Wilson’s wildly diverse background as a boxer, a scientist (he has a degree in microbiology and chemistry from Middle Tennessee State University) and a songwriter, søn of dad is a 22-song tribute to his late father, to be released exactly five years to the day of his death. Album centerpiece “Father’s Son” and its stirring music video received praise from CMT, Whiskey Riff and Rolling Stone who named it one of the “Best Country Songs of 2023 So Far.”
“Writing and making this album has been very therapeutic for me to learn who I am and what my existence looks like after my father. Because life has to go on,” Wilson says. “I'm living my own life, but it's like his death bookended what life he should have had onto mine and I'm carrying it around like a train car.”
The new LP follows this year’s bon aqua EP, which earned acclaim from American Songwriter, Wide Open Country, Holler and more. Country Music Pride went so far as to call it, “…easily the best album of the last 5 years,” declaring Wilson “…one of the best living songwriters of our time.” Over the last six months, Wilson has also made his Grand Ole Opry, Stagecoach and CMA Fest debuts and has shared the stage with The Lone Bellow, Drake White, Charley Crockett, 49 Winchester and Larry Fleet. Still to come are dates with Joss Stone and Midland, including his Red Rocks debut supporting the latter on Oct. 14, and additional dates with The Lone Bellow this November and December. Find a full list of dates below or visit his website.
søn of dad Tracklist:
1) the devil
2) Cuckoo
3) billy
4) patches
5) American Gothic (feat. Hailey Whitters)
6) Werewolf
7) Mighty Beast
8) Year to Be Young 1994
9) twisted
10) Father’s Son
11) Grief Is Only Love
12) Hang in There
13) Calico Creek
14) Holler from the Holler
15) Hometown
16) Not Letting Go
17) For What It’s Worth
18) All the Wars from Now On
19) kid
20) Henry
21) You
22) The Beginning
Tour Dates:
8/19: Des Plaines, IL - Des Plaines Theatre ^
8/20: Grand Rapids, MI - Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater ^
8/22: Cleveland Heights, OH - Cain Park Evans Amphitheater ^
8/23: Greensburg, PA - The Palace Theatre ^
8/25: Washington, DC - Warner Theatre ^
8/26: Niagara Falls, ON - OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino ^
8/28: Ridgefield, CT - The Ridgefield Playhouse ^
8/29: Boston, MA - House of Blues Boston ^
8/31: Hampton Beach, NH - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom ^
9/1: Bethlehem, PA - Wind Creek Event Center ^
9/3: Marietta, GA - Georgia Country Music Fest
9/14: Louisville, KY - Bourbon & Beyond
10/13: Sandy, UT - Sandy Amphitheater @
10/14: Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre @
11/3: Scottsdale, AZ - Dreamy Draw Music Festival
11/26 & 11/27: Vienna, VA - The Barns at Wolf Trap #
11/29, 11/30 & 12/1: New York, NY - Rockwood Music Hall #
12/2 & 12/3: Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair #
12/5: Rochester, NY - The Theater at Innovation Square #
12/6: Fairfield, CT - The Warehouse #
12/8 & 12/9: Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s #
12/10: Richmond, VA - The National #
^ - with Joss Stone
@ - with Midland
# - with The Lone Bellow
