Colt Ford's 'When Country Comes Back' Is a Revival [LISTEN]

Country singer-slash-rapper Colt Ford’s new single, "When Country Comes Back," is a foot-stomper. The energetic jam has the singer challenging listeners to get ready for a real country comeback, asking, “Where you gon’ be when country comes back?”

Songwriter Taylor Phillips tells Taste of Country that when he, Derek George and Monty Criswell wrote the song, they “wanted to be honest and tell the truth about the state of country music at the time."

"When we finished writing it, I thought, ‘I bet Colt Ford would love this,'" Phillips continues. "I sent it to him and he said, 'Yep, that’s me.'"

In a press release, Ford adds, “The sentiment in "When Country Comes Back" so perfectly expresses how I feel — there couldn’t be any sweeter words to my ears. I’m so thankful to be back out on the road with my band playing live music and seeing the fans again.”

A music video for the song backs up that sentiment, showing Ford performing his new song at Tootsie's and other Lower Broadway honky-tonks in Nashville in April. "Where you gon' be when country comes back? / Cold beer chasin' that Lynchburg Jack / Knockin' that dust off them old-school tracks / Bet your boots I'm ready," he sings as fans clap along.

Ford is spending 2021 on his Back to Them Backroads Tour. Currently, dates are on his calendar through mid-November — a welcome return to the road for the artist, who was diagnosed with eye cancer earlier this year.

In addition to his work as an artist, Ford co-owns the record label Average Joes Entertainment. He's the songwriter behind Jason Aldean's "Dirt Road Anthem" and Brantley Gilbert's "Country Must Be Country Wide," both No. 1 hits, and has also worked with, among others, Toby Keith and members of No Doubt.