Watch New Music Videos from Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson + More Country Artists
It was a busy week for country artists releasing new music videos. Read on to get caught up!
Kacey Musgraves, "Mother"
Kacey Musgraves' new music video for the sentimental song "Mother" is only 76 seconds long. However, its short length and simplistic arrangement make the lyrics that much more prominent in the song -- lyrics Musgraves wrote, apparently, while on acid. "Bursting with empathy, I'm feeling everything / The weight of the world on my shoulders / Hope my tears don't freak you out / They're just kinda coming out / It's the music in me and all of the colors," she sings in the first verse."[Acid] made me more compassionate as a daughter, as a granddaughter, as a partner," Musgraves tells Rolling Stone Country regarding her experience writing "Mother."
The clip features Musgraves sitting in a chair with a golden curtain as a backdrop, and short snippets of a mother and child are interspersed throughout: putting on a bandaid, fingerprinting together, making shadow puppets--all those small moments that make up motherhood. Fittingly, her own mother appears in the "Mother" music video. --CV
Home Free, "Heaven" (Kane Brown Cover)
Country vocal group Home Free (who won the fourth season of The Sing-Off) are treating fans to a new video covering Kane Brown's "Heaven." It's perfect timing for the group, as the song just gave Brown his second No. 1 single. The video was filmed in a barn-like setting, with strings of light twinkling above the vocalists.
"We often get asked how we choose which songs we want to put our stamp on, and it always comes back to finding something that inspires each one of us, whether it be something sonically or lyrically," Home Free bass singer Tim Foust states in a press release. "Kane’s voice is so unique and he’s definitely one of our favorite new artists in the genre, so this felt like a perfect fit." "Heaven" was written by Blake Anthony Carter, Matthew McGinn and Lindsay Rimes and produced by Dan Huff. --CV
Ryan Hurd, "Diamonds or Twine"
Ryan Hurd's latest single "Diamonds or Twine" gets even more romantic in the just-released video. It features his relationship with Maren Morris, who he married on March 24. Viewers get to see intimate footage of the couple at Hurd's family's lake house in Michigan (where he proposed), backstage at Red Rocks Ampitheatre when Morris opened for Sam Hunt's tour, before a show at Nashville's Ascend Ampitheatre when Hurd played with Thomas Rhett, as well as lots of sweet moments between the couple. The video ends with the wedding ceremony between Hurd and Morris--the perfect happy ending to a country music love story.
Hurd revealed the song to Morris when he proposed, and then he recorded it as a wedding gift for his bride. His co-writers on "Diamonds or Twine" were Laura Veltz and Mark Trussell, with Aaron Essuis producing the song. --CV
Philippa Hanna, "The Hero"
Phillipa Hanna tackles some tough issues, such as depression and anxiety, that she has personally dealt with in the video for her new song "Hero." Images of people from all age groups, races and genders as they float under water, twisting a turning as if looking for direction. At the end of the video, everybody breaks through the surface of the water.
“So many of us have moments where daily life becomes overwhelming." Hanna says in a press release. "I wanted 'The Hero' to be a loving reminder that there is no shame in asking for help, even if you are the one that usually has it together and takes care of others. If we can openly talk about and deal with these vulnerable moments it could prevent much deeper problems later on.”" --LS
Dan + Shay, "All to Myself"
Dan + Shay have had a lot going on this year. In addition to two weddings and a new baby, they have been working on their third studio album, which is due out on June 22. "All To Myself" portrays the dark and emotional side of wanting to keep a romantic partner under wraps from the rest of the world. Played out in dark corners and shadows, the video captures a gentle, possessive version of a love affair. --LS
Willie Nelson, "Heaven is Closed"
Willie Nelson is back with a video for his song "Heaven is Closed," off his latest album, Last Man Standing, which was released on April 27. The mid-tempo waltz draws on Nelson's classic sound, as he delivers his trademark tongue-in-cheek lyrics from a recording studio. "Heaven is closed and hell's overcrowded so I think I'll just stay where I am." The legend croons, questioning lofty ideals and holy aspirations against the backdrop of his all-star backing band. Like much of Last Man Standing, "Heaven is Closed" taps into the "gray" humor that Nelson's grateful ode to aging offers. --LS
Midland, "Burn Out"
Midland adopt some serious Texas vibes in the music video for their latest single, "Burn Out," a heartache ballad that draws heavily from the drawling, poignant vocals of classic country. Filmed in an expansive, smokey honky tonk, the video follows a bartender around the room as she slings beers and cracks jokes with patrons after breaking up with her cheating boyfriend. The band performs, but after the intoxicated and lovesick boyfriend gets kicked out of the bar when he starts causing trouble, Midland lead singer Mark Wystrach hops offstage to serenade the bartender on the dance floor. --CL
The Bones of J.R. Jones, "Sinner Song"
Singer-songwriter Jonathan Linaberry has shared a poignant, stark new music video for his latest single, "Sinner Song," off of his third album released under the name, The Bones of J.R. Jones. A slowed-down, soulful meditation on themes of death and rebirth, the track draws heavily on Linaberry's haunting, harmony-laden vocals and simplistic -- but powerful -- guitar riffs. "I like the idea of the viewer wondering if they are witnessing a murder or a ceremony," Linaberry says of the video. "I wanted there to be an ambiguity." --CL