My song pick this week is hot off the presses and the advance single for a new album from an act in country music who has been building a ton of momentum in the 2020’s and has arrived on the grander stage.

Yesterday on January 22, Charley Crockett made the announcement of his new album $10 Cowboy. The album will release on April 26. Along with the album information, Charley also released the album’s first single which is the title track. He also performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live on the 22^nd.

The name $10 Cowboy takes its inspiration from when Charley was busking on street corners years before transitioning to a “proper” recording artist. Each bill hitting the tip jar was a hard-won victory for the street kid, and today he shows that he maintains his perspective even after becoming the talk of country music.

And this song has a bit of a punch behind it. Charley has always shown capable of writing a smooth tune, but this one comes with the kind of grit you’d associate with the subject matter. Of course, a guy who’s recorded 13 studio albums in 9 years would surely venture into other territory, but this one is a very welcome entry in the catalog.

This song also isn’t entirely “new,” it has appeared at times during Crockett’s tours in 2023. And it’s also not even the first new music for Charley this year – right as the year turned, he released a duet with his hero and friend, the venerable Willie Nelson. It’s going to be yet another busy year for Charley.

In a few months we’ll see what the album $10 Cowboy holds, it automatically becomes one of country’s most anticipated albums of 2024. If the title track is anything to go by, Charley is adding even more depth to his arsenal and may be poised to conquer even beyond the heights he reached with 2022’s The Man From Waco. While a number of detractors pop up to fling accusations of “hipster” when Charley is mentioned, he’s also grown his fanbase by leaps and bounds in the past few years, and 2024 may be yet another “Year of Charley.”