The propulsive new single is available now
Rising star Stephen Wilson Jr. releases his new single “Gary” via Big Loud Records, kicking off the beginning of a new era following his massively successful 2023 debut double album Søn of Dad. The track premiered last night (Tues, Nov 18th) with an electrifying performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! The slow-burning rocker builds to a propulsive peak, combining Wilson Jr.’s grunge influences with his signature lyricism that touches upon modern life in Middle America.
Wilson Jr. is nominated for New Artist of the Year at tonight’s CMA Awards, where he will also perform twice. He will play his moving rendition of “Stand By Me,” which has earned over 20 million global on-demand streams to date, and will join fellow New Artist of the Year nominee Shaboozey for a special performance of “Took A Walk,” their song from the critically-acclaimed 2025 film The Long Walk, based on the novel by Stephen King.
Last week, Wilson Jr. announced the Gary The Torch Tour, which will begin on March 6th in Columbus, OH, and includes stops in Toronto, Boston, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Chicago, and many more. Ahead of next year’s tour, Wilson Jr. will close out 2025 with his headlining debut at the Ryman Auditorium with two sold-out shows on November 23-24.
It’s been a busy year for Wilson Jr. who released both a deluxe edition of his widely lauded debut double album Søn of Dad, which featured his moving rendition of “Stand By Me” that has been streamed tens of millions of times and has been included in a primetime Pampers commercial, as well as his recent Blankets EP, which included covers of songs by Nirvana, Temple of the Dog, The Postal Service and The Smashing Pumpkins. He also performed the National Anthem at this year’s NFL Draft.
In between headline shows, Wilson Jr. supported Eric Church during his three-night run at Red Rocks this July, made his Newport Folk Festival debut, and joined Hardy on his Jim Bob World Tour. He will kick off 2026 with a performance at Mile 0 Festival in Key West and will join Church again for a trio of shows in February before performing at Railbird Music Festival and Under The Big Sky Festival next summer.
