NASHVILLE, TENN. – Today, the Indiana-born, Nashville-based rising star Stephen Wilson Jr. releases his new single “Gary” via Big Loud Records, kicking off the beginning of a new era following his massively successful 2023 debut double album søn of dad. The track premiered last night with an electrifying performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! The slow burning rocker builds to a propulsive peak, combining Wilson Jr.’s grunge influences with his signature lyricism that touches upon modern life in Middle America.
Wilson Jr. is nominated for New Artist of the Year at tonight’s CMA Awards, where he will also perform twice. He will play his moving rendition of “Stand By Me,”which has earned over 20 million global on demand streams to date, and will join fellow New Artist of the Year nominee Shaboozey for a special performance of “Took A Walk,”their song from the critically-acclaimed 2025 film The Long Walk, based on the novel by Stephen King.
About the song, Wilson Jr. explains:
“Gary, a dying breed, perhaps I pray not, we are going to need our Garys, y’all.
Our Garys are going extinct, much like the polar gare. I believe we need to save them. It’s gonna be a Gary, scary world without them.
Where I come from, the Garys get it done. And when your septic tank blows, I do not believe AI will show, but I believe a guy will.
And there’s a good chance his name’s gonna be
Gary.”
Last week, Wilson Jr. announced the Gary The Torch Tour, which will begin on March 6 in Columbus, Ohio and includes stops in Toronto, Boston, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Chicago and many more. Tickets are on sale now; find a full list of tour dates below or visit stephenwilsonjr.com. Ahead of next year’s tour, Wilson Jr. will close out 2025 with his headline debut at the Ryman Auditorium with two sold-out shows on November 23 and 24.
It’s been a busy year for Wilson Jr. who released both a deluxe edition of his widely lauded debut double album søn of dad, as well as his recent Blankets EP, which included covers of songs by Nirvana, Temple of the Dog, The Postal Service and The Smashing Pumpkins. He also performed the National Anthem at this year’s NFL Draft, was named “one of country music’s most electrifying new artists” in Rolling Stone’s Future of Music print issue and collaborated with Noah Cyrus for “If There’s A Heaven” from the deluxe edition of Cyrus’s WANT MY LOVED ONES TO GO WITH ME LP.
In between his massively successful søn of dad headline tour, Wilson Jr. supported Eric Church during his three-night run at Red Rocks this July, made his Newport Folk Festival debut, and joined HARDY on his JIM BOB World Tour. He will kick off 2026 with a performance at Mile 0 Festival in Key West and will join Church again for a trio of shows in February before performing at Railbird Music Festival and Under The Big Sky Festival next summer.
2025 Tour Dates
11/20: Columbia, SC – Township Auditorium
11/23: Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
11/24: Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
12/4: Zallaq, Bahrain – BEYON Al Dana Amphitheatre
12/11: Las Vegas, NV – The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan
2026 Tour Dates
1/27-1/31: Key West, FL – Mile 0 Festival *
2/17: Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
2/26: Tulsa, OK – BOK Center ^
2/27: Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena ^
2/28: Austin, TX – Moody Center ^
3/6: Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live! #
3/7: Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe #
3/10: Cleveland, OH – The Agora #
3/11: Detroit, MI – The Fillmore #
3/14: Toronto, ON – HISTORY #
3/18: Boston, MA – Citizens House of Blues #
3/21: Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount #
3/22: Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre #
3/25: Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore #
3/28: Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore #
4/11: Bossier City, LA – The Paradise Theater at Margaritaville Bossier City #
4/15: St. Louis, MO – The Pageant #
4/17: Kansas City, MO – The Midland Theatre #
4/18: Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom #
4/22: Omaha, NE – Steelhouse Omaha #
4/24: Madison, WI – The Sylvee #
4/25: Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed #
6/6: Lexington, KY – Railbird Music Festival *
7/18: Whitefish, MT – Under the Big Sky Festival *
* Festival
# Gary The Torch Tour
^ Supporting Eric Church
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