The 4th of July is ablaze with Country Music standards, but we've got some fresh tunes for your playlist to keep the fireworks popping.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Of course, no Southern 4th of July shindig would be complete without patriotic boot tappers like "Only in America" by Brooks and Dunn or the granddaddy of them all, "God Bless The U.S.A" by Lee Greenwood. There are even edgier, yet thematically on-point tunes like "4th of July" by Shooter Jennings.
Still, there are newer tunes by artists off the beaten path or on the rise that would serve any Country Music fan well as they reflect on the 4th. Here are some of our picks for a fresh 4th of July Country Music Playlist.
Best New Songs For 4th of July
Jordana Bryant, "Fire Works"
What better way to kick off a 4th of July playlist than a new tune literally called "Fireworks"? Up-and-coming singer-songwriter Jordana Bryant brings the goods here. Pop vibes backed by a mean banjo, this track would be perfect to have in the background when you're picking out the best showstoppers from your favorite fireworks tent.
Drive-By Truckers, "Rebels"
From the Dive-By Truckers album The Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities and Rarities, 2003-2008, this is an inspired cover of the classic Tom Petty tune. Sure, it's about a Southerner with a laundry list of problems who resents Yankees. However, it was featured on one of the most all-American shows around, King of the Hill.
This is the sort of song that will make you want to drive the back roads all night watching the fireworks pop off in the distance.
Leon Majcen, "Blue Sky"
Another new track for your 4th of July playlist, Leon Majcen's "Blue Sky" dropped this past January. Full of classic American imagery, Majcen sings "Looking out the window thinking 'bout our past If we're meant to be, if we're meant to last I'd be crazy if I didn't take a chance You're my blue sky babe, I'm just glad I get to hold your hand."
Classic Americana you could grill out with your favorite people to.
Skip Ewing, "Wreck of My Heart"
Hell yes! This is another slick track that dropped this past March. Skip Ewing's "Wreck Of My Heart" is a 90s blue-collar throwback. Full of imagery involving pick-up trucks and broken relationships, this track is a lovelorn gearhead's theme song. It also features some impressive guitar work, and the video is as pure-blooded American as it gets.
Tori Rose, "17"
Now we have a reflective song to bring calming, melancholy vibes to the 4th playlist after a high-octane tune. Tori Rose's "17" is as sweet as a serving of apple pie. All about the hope of young love, laced with the melancholy of its all but inevitable abrupt conclusion adulthood brings. It also boasts serious steel guitar work, with a video full of pastoral American imagery.
Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms, "Innocent Road"
Folks, sometimes wholesome comes full circle to being hip.
Sure, it's a bit of a throwback with this track. However, Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms's "Innocent Road" all but sums up the purity of the old-time religion of the South. Klauder plays a mean mando, but his harmonizing alongside Willms will have you happily getting your sorry ass back to church. Let's face it, a lot of us might need that following our 4th of July festivities.
Adam Mac, "Dust Off Your Boots"
Our penultimate song will give you one last shot in the arm to keep you going as the fireworks wind down and you crack open your last beer of the night. Adam Mac (Nashville's "Disco Cowboy") has the perfect Country dance anthem in "Dust Off Your Boots" to make sure any honky tonk shindig ends on the right note. The perfect mix of 90s pop Country, Motown, and fun, Mac will have even the grittiest cowboy leaving blood on the dance floor.
Plus, the video for the tune is full of all-American imagery, down to Mac's Evel Knievel nudie suit.
Ending Your 4th of July Playlist on a Somber Note: Joshua Ray Walker, "Cowboy"
All good things must come to an end. As your 4th of July playlist comes to a close, we here at Wide Open Country want to send you off gently into the night. Enter Joshua Ray Walker's somber, haunting track, "Cowboy". Here, Walker is on front street about not knowing anything about roping, riding, or cattle drives.
"She gave you second chances at romance, but you won't hang up your spurs,' Walker sings, resonating with nearly every shi-kicker wannabe to step foot in a honkytonk.
Criminally underseen, Walker is the real deal. A crooner that can hit any pitch, pick a lick, and write some of the most soul-crushing lyrics around. Yeah, that's Country Music. That's as American as it gets.
