Despite the holiday weekend in the middle of the month, November still produced a number of creative projects that will be staples of country music in 2023. Maybe the most unique project was the announcement and release of the soundtrack to the latest installment of the Hunger Games franchise, The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbird & Snakes. Featuring Charles Wesley Godwin, Flatland Cavalry, Billy Strings, Sierra Ferrell and Molly Tuttle, some of country music’s fastest-rising stars are on full display for one of the most devoted fan bases in pop culture. Fans of Godwin and Zach Bryan will appreciate the creative direction of this album as Dave Cobb produced the majority of the project.
However, the collaboration between Post Malone and Morgan Wallen took the spotlight during the 57th annual CMA awards as they performed a new rendition of “Pickup Man” by the late Joe Diffie. This was part of the rollout for the new HIXTAPE project, DIFFTAPE. This was met with mixed reviews as many were grateful that Post Malone made his official debut in country music after toying with the idea for years, but many were weirded out by him being joined posthumously by Diffie.
This was a great month for debuts and singers on the rise with Dylan Gossett putting out his debut EP No Better Time. This project featured his songs “Coal” and “Beneath Oak Trees” which both went viral on TikTok. Now signed to Big Loud Texas, Gossett gears up for a very prosperous career. Oklahoman phenom Wyatt Flores also released his EP Life Lessons this month as the follow-up to a string of wildly successful singles. Flores has been on a tear on TikTok with numerous viral moments paving the way for his career to take off and developing an absolutely rabid fanbase.
Cody Johnson and Chris Stapleton each released albums trying to make a push for album of the year. Johnson’s album Leather was a 12-track compilation of songs that were rich in instrumentation and consistently sounded country. Johnson was joined by Brooks and Dunn one on song and Jelly Roll on another. While he didn’t have any writing credits on the album, he still added a unique flare to each of them and made them his own. Chris Stapleton’s newest album Higher is his fifth full-length LP and deepens one of the most critically and commercially successful careers in all of music. Also produced by Dave Cobb, Stapleton collaborated with and dedicated this album to his wife Morgane Stapleton. At 14 songs it’s first project in three years after Starting Over which brought home numerous awards.
Lesser known but equally as rich in the quality of their music The Wilder Blue and Treaty Oak Revival each released albums in the last week of the month. Formerly known as Hill Country, The Wilder Blue’s newest album Super Natural is their third. The lead single “Seven Bridges Road” featuring Luke Combs, originally by The Eagles, took off in its first week of streaming introducing them to a wide new audience. On an edgier note, Treaty Oak Revival has been developing its brand as Koe Wetzel-adjacent rockers. Their album Have A Nice Day was welcomed by fans and critics alike with open arms. Independently released, their creative process has been fascinating to follow with the entire band being credited as writers on all their songs. Writing by committee is sometimes frowned upon but they’ve been able to latch onto such a passionate fanbase. In a similar vein to Treaty Oak Revival, Shane Smith and the Saints released a new single “Adeline” ahead of their 2024 album Northerner.
Lastly, Noah Kahan continued to re-release songs from his Stick Season album most recently dropping “Northern Attitude” with Hozier. Since then, Kahan has teased “Everywhere, Everything” featuring Gracie Abrams. Eddie Flint, Low Gap, and Logan Crosby each released singles with careers still in their infancy.
