Whitney Rose ain't afraid to tell it like it is. Whether it's voicing her anxieties through 1960s country-soul or singing about showing up to a fancy dinner party in thrift store clothes and cowgirl boots, the Canadian turned Texan is fiercely outspoken.
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It's that candidness that fuels Rose's latest single, "Arizona," a boisterous, horn-laden goodbye to a no-good man and a love letter to freedom and wide open western skies. Backing her up on the track is an all-star band made up of Nashville mainstays Chris Scruggs, Kenny Vaughan and Paul Deakin.
Rose says the song grew out of her love for the southwestern state.
"The idea for 'Arizona' came to me one day when I was thinking about escaping the cold and the thought quickly evolved into escaping a cold person instead of weather," Rose tells Wide Open Country. "It's just a fun little 'screw you' song that affords me the opportunity to talk up one of my favorite states."
Listen to the song below.
"Arizona" is the second release from Rose's sophomore album Rule 62, produced by Raul Malo and Niko Bolas, out Oct. 6 on Six Shooter Records via Thirty Tigers.
Rose says the album takes aim systematic sexism prevalent in society.
"For reasons unbeknownst to me at the time, I started writing all these 'break up' songs that were mostly angry. I've been in a very loving relationship for almost six years now so I wasn't sure where all these feelings were coming from until one day it hit me like a ton of bricks that I was penning these songs to society. Breaking up with the patriarchy. I love being a woman but sometimes it's fucking hard," Rose says. "I'm taking a more 'Fuck you, patriarchy, we're through so pack your shit and get out' kind of approach."
At a time when mainstream country is largely ignoring women, Rose's powerhouse voice and unapologetic frankness is both necessary and long overdue.
Rule 62 is the full-length follow up to Rose's 2015 debut Heartbreaker of the Year. Earlier this year, Rose released the self-produced South Texas Suite.
Whitney Rose has a busy tour schedule booked through the end of the year, which includes a stop at next month's AmericanaFest in Nashville.
