Here are five new country and Americana songs we have on heavy rotation.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Maren Morris with Vince Gill, "Dear Hate"
Maren Morris wrote "Dear Hate" three years ago and recorded it last year with Vince Gill. Following the horrific shooting in Las Vegas Sunday night at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, Morris decided to release the powerful song. "Hate is everywhere and I'm sick of not doing enough," Morris wrote. "In the darkest tunnel there is still love & music. That's what it's here for." Morris stated that she'll be donating all proceeds from the song to the Music City Cares Fund, established to help victims of the shooting. "Dear Hate" will be available on iTunes on Friday.
Shooter Jennings, "Do You Love Texas?"
Shooter Jennings joins a slew of Texas musicians coming together to raise funds to rebuild Texas after the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. Jennings is joined by Kacey Musgraves, Kris Kristofferson, Randy Rogers, Jason Boland, Ray Benson and Whiskey Myers on the track. The all-star tribute gives a shout out to legendary Texas haunts, Floore's Country Store and the White Elephant Saloon. All proceeds from the song will be donated to the Rebuild Texas Fund.
Ryan Koenig, "Puebla, MX"
St. Louis-based Americana singer Ryan Koenig told Wide Open Country he wrote the Tex-Mex inspired "Puebla, MX" after the Ferguson riots and the loss of one of his close friends. The rootsy tune is a reminder that there's always hope in times of darkness. Listen to the track here.
Turnpike Troubadours, "Sunday Morning Paper"
"Sunday Morning paper said rock and roll is surely dead, something hit me deep down in my soul," Evan Felker sings on this slow-burning heartland rocker. The fiddle and barroom piano-laden track is a tribute to classic country-rock ramblers of days gone by. Just days after the world lost another legendary southern rocker and poet, Tom Petty, the song feels particularly fitting. "Sunday Morning Paper" is the latest offering from the Troubadours' highly anticipated album A Long Way From Your Heart, out Oct. 20.
Whitney Rose, "You Don't Scare Me"
Whitney Rose explores the murky waters of a late-night, neon-lit dive bar romance on the defiant "You Don't Scare Me." Rose's sophomore album Rule 62 will be released on Oct. 6.
