What is going on, friends? Welcome to my weekly
mixtape, the show that takes the classic mixtape
approach to building a modern playlist. I'm your
host, Brian Colburn, and tonight I am here to
count down a dozen top country songs from the
year 2025. Now, I know what you're thinking.
I could just go on Apple Music or Spotify and
look at the top 20 songs from the year. You certainly
can do that. My list is probably not going to
align with that very much. Certainly there's
going to be some crossover, I'm sure, because
I listen to all sorts of country music. So there's
going to be the top hits as well as some stuff
that digs a little deeper. But I feel like 2025
was a year in country music that really branched
out in many different directions. And country
music as a whole has been doing that a lot over
the last decade. And I think. More and more,
especially in 2024 and 2025, we are seeing country
music kind of cross -pollinate with so many different
genres that it's almost becoming hard to distinguish
what country music is versus what straight -up
rock or pop is. And I find that very interesting
because there's some pop songs that'll just incorporate
some country elements, but not necessarily be
country. and then vice versa. So it's definitely
been blurring the lines over what country music
is over the last several years, especially. And
I think some of that's going to come through
in my picks tonight. But with that, I want to
know what songs resonated with you on your country
playlists this year. So be sure to reach out
to me, myweeklymixtape at gmail .com. I'm on
all the social media haunts at My Weekly Mixtape.
You can also use the contact page over at myweeklymixtape
.com or you can join the Mixtaper community over
at patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape.
Over there, I was having a conversation with
Chad LaMasso about his top country song of the
year, which was Ashley Kutcher's Hey Girl. And
he even brought up the fact that she started
out pop, but has since gone country. And I feel
like that's part of this crossover conversation
that I'm going to be talking about tonight because
a lot of these songs are cross -pollinated with
other genres. And I can understand and respect
the argument that would go both ways there because
some people feel like they want their country
to stay. as pure as it was in the 70s, 80s, and
then obviously in the 90s when things started
to change because country music started to make
this change in the 90s with artists like Garth
Brooks and Shania Twain that really drove that
crossover narrative. And other people are kind
of welcome to seeing wherever it goes. Now, me,
if you listen to this show week in and week out,
you know my musical palette. spans all genres
and is all over the place. So the more the genre
evolves and stretches its boundaries, the better
as far as I'm concerned. But I understand where
some people just might not resonate with it.
But in this playlist tonight, I'm trying to touch
on both sides of the spectrum so that way you
can get an idea of stuff that is staying true
to the old school country sound, to stuff that
stays in that modern country wheelhouse. as well
as the stuff that's kind of branching out in
all different directions, which might be where
the genre is headed in the future. And along
with Chad, Sean Goff chimed in with Peace of
Mind by Amanda Shires, saying it definitely has
some good country roots, and he thinks the song
has enough of a today's country sound to qualify.
But as we're going to find out a little later
on throughout this episode, a today's country
sound could mean a lot of different things. And
I feel like Amanda's music definitely speaks
to that argument for sure, because peace of mind
has a gritty, almost Southern rock drive to it
that maybe a decade ago might not have been included
in the country conversation, but now it a hundred
percent fits and taking that to the next extreme.
Tom Hutchison chimed in with a song that he actually
discovered through the show. So thank you very
much, Tom. He went with Lakeview's home team,
saying it fits with his style of music. And this
year for him, the rest of the country year was
a bit too poppy for his tastes. And I could definitely
see that. But Lakeview, not so much when it comes
to poppy. Lakeview is the other side of the spectrum.
They are hard rock, almost metal country music.
Yes, you heard that correctly. And it may be
something we talk about a little bit later on.
So for now, I'm going to put a pin in what Tom
had to say right there. So once again, if you
want to join the mixtaper community, which is
free to do, you can do so over at patreon .com
forward slash my weekly mixtape. So without further
ado, let's dive into 12 of the top country songs
that truly moved the needle for me in 2025. And
I'm going to be perfectly honest and out myself
right from the beginning. Some of these songs
came out in late 2024, but took on a life of
their own throughout 2025. So they'll be included
tonight, including my first pick, which was a
top 10 country hit and cracked the Billboard
Hot 100. This is an artist that is probably not
a shock to many modern country fans. He's been
around since the early 2000s. And if you're a
huge fan of The Voice, I'm sure you're very familiar
with him pointing to himself whenever he wants
to be selected as a coach. That would be Blake
Shelton. And I'm going to go with a song that
he released in November of 2024, but the album
for recreational use only dropped in early 2025,
and that is Texas. This is one of those songs
that fall under the modern country music wheelhouse
category for me. It checks all the boxes of what
modern country is. It definitely has the modern
production and sound to it, but there's also
some elements and notes that kind of bring you
back into the early 2000s and even maybe a hat
tip or a nod to the 1990s country sound, which
I kind of like. And I'll say that for selfish
reasons because that's when I was introduced
to country. It was in the mid -90s. The first
country song I ever enjoyed. was John Michael
Montgomery's Soul, thanks to my college roommate.
So that sound and that vibe always sticks and
resonates with me. And I feel like through artists
such as Zach Topp, Luke Combs, Laney Wilson,
and some of the other artists we might get into
this evening, that sound is kind of making its
way back when you do that rotation, that throwback
vibe. I'm hearing 90s country start to... creep
in and out of music again. And I think it's a
refreshing change because it's no secret that
what's old is new again, happens over and over
again in the music scene. This could be rock,
hip hop, country. The sounds come back in and
out of style. That's why there's a lot of rock
bands right now that are embracing that 70s flavor
and some even embracing the early 2000s divorced
dad rock. Music is very cyclical, and I have
no problem with it circling back around to an
era that I am extremely fond of, whether that
be through nostalgia or through what the artists
are actually bringing to the table to take that
sound to a different place. But Texas is definitely
one of those ones that immediately grabbed me
the first time I heard it, and it's one that
I listened to throughout the whole year for recreational
use only. Could possibly be one of my favorite
Blake Shelton albums that he's ever released.
It's solid from start to finish. There is a duet
with Gwen Stefani on it, and as much as I love
her stuff with No Doubt, she can handle a country
tune, and their voices work really well together.
Now, anybody that listens to this show knows
I'm a huge Third Wave Ska fan. I love No Doubt.
I even enjoy Gwen's solo stuff from the 2000s.
I think her voice is one of the ones that can
kind of bounce from genre to genre effortlessly.
And she's done country stuff before and it works.
She's done pop. She's done ska. She just fits
in any genre. And that's something I've always
loved about her voice. The duet's a fantastic
listen. It's called Hanging On, if you want to
look that one up. But Texas was a song that I
felt myself going back to more and more as the
year went on. So kicking off things tonight.
Blake Shelton's Texas. Also in November of 2024,
Thomas Rhett dropped a single featuring Teddy
Swims, Something About a Woman. It was from his
About a Woman album. So yes, it was released
in November of 24, but included on the 2025 deluxe
edition of the album. This is where that cross
-pollinization of music starts to come into play
here. Teddy Swims kind of has a lock on that
modern pop soul vibe. However, when you mix it
in with Thomas Rhett's Something About a Woman,
the two really merge together well. And I'll
be perfectly honest with you, you could play
this song on Top 40 radio and it would work just
as well as it did on country radio. Probably
my favorite all -time Thomas Rhett song. I think
this vibe and this sound suits his voice. really
well. And I think the interplay with Teddy swims,
even though there is a version with just Thomas
read alone, I think the duet suits the song better.
But then again, in 2024, I was singing Teddy
swims praises and I'm still continuing to do
so all throughout 2025. Teddy swims is one of
those artists that if he wanted to could drop
an entire country album. With a little bit of
that soul touch, similar to what Marcus King
did on his 2025 album Darling Blue, which is
another incredible listen, I feel like he could
slide seamlessly into the country scene and would
be universally accepted. He's already done it
with pop, and I feel like Teddy Swims is one
of those artists that can do just about anything.
Last year, I dropped an episode talking about
my favorite cover versions of Taylor Swift's
Cruel Summer. And Teddy Swims made the cut and
he turned Cruel Summer into a power ballad. And
it works so well, almost has a country vibe to
it. So who knows? Maybe we'll see something like
that from Teddy Swims in the future. But following
up Blake Shelton's Texas, we got Thomas Rhett
and Teddy Swims' Something About a Woman. And
I'm going to follow one duet up with another.
This song actually dropped in April of 2025.
So finally, an all 2025 song, something that's
not from 2024. That would be Hayley Witters featuring
Molly Tuttle's Prodigal Daughter from Hayley's
Corn Queen album, which I think is absolutely
a hysterical album title. Molly on this track
plays guitar and sings background vocals, which
lends kind of a bluegrass vibe to this song.
And I want to say it gives it an early 2000s
Chicks vibe. And I'm almost hesitant to say that
because a lot of people compare Hailey's voice
to Natalie Maine's. And I don't want to go down
that road because while I hear some tonal similarities,
I feel like Hailey stands out on her own. But
then again, when you listen to a track like this,
when Molly's harmonies drop into the fold. I
could definitely see where people would compare
it to the Chicks, but is that really a bad group
to compare it to when you're talking about a
country sound that has a little bit of that bluegrass
vibe? I mean, they kind of paved the way in the
90s and 2000s of what that sound should be, but
in no way, shape, or form do I consider Hailey
to be just a carbon copy of Natalie Maines. I
feel like she's carved her own path. And I feel
like she's got something special going on. Corn
Queen is an incredible album that also features
collaborations with Charles Wesley Godwin and
the Wilder Blue. So there's a little bit of touch
of that bluegrass sound, a little bit of modern
country. It's a little less bluegrass than some
of her earlier albums, but I feel like it didn't
sway too far out of the way that fans of her
earlier work might wonder what the hell is going
on. No, this is a fantastic album and one that
I highly recommend. If you haven't heard it all
the way through. So now I'm going to go back
to a solo artist, no more collaborations for
now. And I'm going to go with one that once again
was released in 2024, but the album didn't drop
until 2025. And this one's kind of egregious.
So I'm going to apologize in advance because
this came out in the fall of 2024 and very easily
could have made my songs of 2024 playlist. That
being John Party's Friday Night Heartbreaker
was a top 10 country airplay hit. This song has
such a groove to it. It's sultry. It sits in
that minor key. It's one of those songs that,
I mean, it's right there in the title, Friday
Night. And it feels like one of those songs that
you can listen to on a late night drive. It's
just got that groove to it. While it's a make
no mistake, modern country song, I feel like
it starts to lean a little bit into the rock
side of what John's put out in the past. And
I like it. On John's Christmas album, he did
an incredible cover of Counting Crows along December.
And I feel like some of that influence bled into
this track. I know he used some of the same players
on the song, and that might be where I'm catching
that vibe from. But this song works. The entire
Honky Tonk Hollywood album is great. John is
such a consistent modern country artist. And
I feel like John is one of those ones that does
tip his hat time and time again to that 90s sound.
And I feel like it's not to the point where you
think it's on the nose because it definitely
has the modern sound baked into the music. But
there's definitely a 90s heart at the core of
this song. And it's one that was one of my favorites
throughout the whole year and towards the end
of 2024. So I'm kind of making up for not including
it on my 2024 playlist by giving it the love
it deserves now. But now we're going to start
really leaning into that cross -pollinization
a little bit. This next artist was one that I
was lucky enough to be able to interview with
J sweet back in the tune styles days, but it
was also featured in a bonus episode in season
one of my weekly mixtape because her career has
exploded over the last few years. And that would
be Morgan Wade. Now this is a song she originally
recorded in 2017 by her group, Morgan Wade and
the step brothers. However, in August of 2025,
she released a new version of the song, And name
the album after it. The song is called The Party
Is Over. And the album, The Party Is Over. And
then in parentheses, Recovered. This song is
everything I love about Morgan's music. The chorus
is soaring and massive. And as far as I'm concerned,
is custom built for arenas and stadiums. And
I think I could say that that point comes from
a place of extensive research. Because I had
the pleasure of seeing her open this past year
for Shinedown and Bush on Shinedown's first ever
appearance at New York City's Madison Square
Garden. Thank you to the band for having me out
that evening. I sincerely appreciate it. Morgan
was the first artist on the bill. She played
this song. Now, I know what you're wondering.
This is a Shinedown and Bush show. Why is Morgan
Wade on the bill? Have you heard the party is
over yet? Listen to the end. The song frigging
rocks. As far as I'm concerned, you do not need
to have a genre when it comes to Morgan Wade.
She could step into a rock show and tear up the
stage just as much as she could for a country
show. And look, the lines continue to get blurred
because if you've heard Searchlight, Shinedown's
most recent song, it leans into country and Shinedown.
debuted at the Grand Ole Opry this year. And
just a few years back, this was something I spoke
with Shinedown's drummer Barry Kirch about at
length. Jelly Roll was the opening act for Shinedown.
And I don't know, if you look at where his career's
gone since opening for Shinedown, even in the
country world, Shinedown hoped open doors for
Jelly Roll that weren't there before. And now
they're doing the same thing for Morgan Wade.
And Morgan Wade hat tips it right back to the
rock genre because on the party is over recovered
the bonus edition, because now this is something
I can go into a total sidebar tangent about,
but I'm going to save it for something in the
new year. But artists have been increasingly,
and I'm not sure if it's the artists themselves
or the labels behind it have been increasingly.
releasing deluxe editions of albums very shortly
and i mean within a few months of the standard
version being released it's not something i'm
a huge fan of because i immediately go out and
support the album when it comes out and i mean
physical copies i would prefer that artists start
dropping the deluxe edition on the same day as
the regular edition let me decide which version
i want i promise you it's always going to be
the deluxe edition but with that said On the
deluxe edition of The Party's Over, she does
a fantastic cover of Radiohead's Creep that you
should definitely check out. You know how I am
with my cover songs. And, you know, I understand
that there's Radiohead fans out there that are
probably going, oh, he said Creep. Yeah, she
does a fantastic version of Creep. And I'm one
of those people. I'll admit it. It is my favorite
Radiohead song. So apologies to the Radiohead
fans out there that just lost a little bit of
respect for me. But yes, I am that guy with zero
shame because music is subjective and it hits
us all in different ways. And Creep is always
going to resonate with me on a different level.
And that's with zero disrespect to the rest of
Radiohead's catalog. But I digress. We've talked
enough about Radiohead. This is a country episode.
Back to Morgan Wade. Now, if you've heard The
Party Is Over, you know the end of the song goes
double time and gets heavy as hell. So how would
you come out of a song like that? For me, it's
an absolute no -brainer, but once again, just
like John Party's Friday Night Heartbreaker,
I am going to dive earlier back into 2024 with
an album that I regret did not make my 2024 playlist,
but I am making good on it now in 2025. This
is the album I probably listened to more than
any country album in 2025, and that would be
Lakeview's self -titled album. And the song that
I'm going to go with to close out the first half
of this 2025 country playlist is Home Team. Once
again, I'll shout out Patreon mixtaper Tom Hutchinson,
who also chimed in with this one. You want to
talk about a song that gets the party started
like no other? Home Team is one of those tunes.
This is a country song that somehow in the chorus
goes down the path of Disturbed. The riff is
massive. This song is frigging heavy. There's
screaming in this song. This is everything that
you would not expect a country song to be. But
in 2025, the cross -pollinization, and I've probably
said that word way too many times in this first
half, is alive and well. And Lakeview is one
of those bands that's carrying the torch and
leading the way for this sound. This is a new
sound of country music. Why do I say that? They've
toured with Breaking Benjamin. They've toured
with Stained. They've toured with country artists.
They've been on country music festivals. The
Barefoot Music Festival that takes place in Wildwood,
New Jersey. Lakeview is on the bill. And then
they go off and tour with Breaking Benjamin and
Stained over the summer. They are introducing
their music to two completely different audiences
at the same time and making ground in both. genres
at once. Let's be honest, setting yourselves
apart and making a name for yourself in this
current music scene is hard enough to do in one
genre, let alone multiple genres simultaneously.
And yet Lakeview is here doing just that. Earlier
this year, I had Cody Hanson of Hinder on the
show to talk about the band's 2025 album, Back
to Life. And we got into it about Lakeview. They
are huge Lakeview fans. Lakeview are huge Hinder
fans. Lakeview covered Lips of an Angel this
year. Hinder was rocking out to Lakeview all
year long, as Cody and I talked about. Just a
few weeks back, Lakeview and Hinder did a show
together and teamed up on Lips of an Angel. I
am telling you, the lines are blurred. Country
music is going down a path. that has so many
different off -ramps that I don't know if the
world is ready for it, and I friggin' love it.
So with that, the first half of my 2025 country
music playlist, which kicked off with Blake Shelton's
Texas, followed up by Thomas Rhett featuring
Teddy Swim's Something About a Woman, Hayley
Witter's featuring Molly Tuttle, Prodigal Daughter,
John Party's Friday Night Heartbreaker, Morgan
Wade's The Party Is Over and Lakeview's Home
Team. Head over to myweeklymixtape .com to hear
all the songs I've discussed in this mix through
the playlist embedded on the episode page. And
now we're going to dive into the second half
of my top 12 country songs of 2025. And this
is one that, again, lines are blurred because
when I hear the name Larkin Poe, I don't immediately
go country. To me, they're a blues rock group,
but their latest album, Bloom, which dropped
at the beginning of 2025, right in January, has
a little bit of that country and Americana sound
baked into what Larkin Poe has done in the past.
And it works so very well. Now, Larkin Poe is
a group that I don't know is on every country
music fan's radar, and I want them to be. So
I'm including it here tonight. Because if you
haven't heard Larkin Poe, you need to hear Rebecca
and Megan Lavelle tear it up. That's right. They
are sisters and they are frigging incredible.
Go back through their whole catalog. You will
not be disappointed. But in terms of 2025, I
am going to go with the track Mockingbird because
I feel like it's got the most country -esque
sound from the album. And I feel like it would
be the easiest way. for a country music purist
to be introduced to their music and still be
able to find path roads into wanting to listen
to all of their other stuff. I feel it's the
perfect gateway drug song to introduce a country
fanatic to the world of Larkin Poe. I feel like
Larkin Poe is one of those bands that's destined
to be massive and just hasn't gotten that push
over the top yet. And make no mistake about it,
I'm not saying they are a small band. They are
headlining blues festivals and concerts all over
the country. I just don't feel like they're getting
the mainstream attention that they deserve. They
should be at every single one of these CMA music
fests in front of thousands upon thousands of
people, because not only does their music stand
up with everybody else on that stage. It has
an authentic and unique sound that sets them
apart from anybody on those CMA stages. As far
as I'm concerned, they should be a household
name. Their harmonies are incredible. Their talent
is off the charts. Every one of their albums
is consistent from start to finish. I feel like
they just need that one push to get over the
top to become one of the biggest things in music.
Is dipping into country the thing that does that?
Maybe we'll find out in 2026, but they're still
out on the road touring all over the place. Be
sure to check out Larkin Poe. You won't be disappointed.
And Mockingbird is a killer, killer tune with
some fantastic harmonies. The entire Bloom album
is an experience. Along with the Lakeview album
I mentioned earlier, probably one of my favorite,
and I'll use quote marks, country albums of 2025.
It's just that solid. But I feel like I need
to right a wrong because a couple of songs I've
dipped into tonight go way back into 2024, almost
to a cheating degree, a little more than I feel
comfortable with. So I want to drop a song now
that is the newest song on this playlist. And
it's only come out a month ago. But it hit so
hard that I felt like it deserved a spot on the
2025 playlist. And I have a feeling it's going
to be one that gets played a lot throughout 2026.
Not just for me, but I think for a lot of people,
both in the country world as well as in the rock
world. Because I mentioned this band and song
earlier when I was talking about Morgan Wade.
But Shinedown has officially dipped their toe
in the country music waters, if you will, on
their 2025 single Searchlight. and it couldn't
be a better introduction for the band. One of
the songs from their last full -length release,
Planet Zero, a track called A Symptom of Being
Human, could have very easily slid into the country
music world given the content and the way it
plays out musically, but Searchlight really leans
into it on both a musical and instrument level.
Now, the song is still in the early stages of
its release, so I haven't really seen... the
full spectrum of fan reaction to it. I think
it's going to open Shinedown's music to a whole
new audience as Symptom already started down
that path. Now, they have always had a little
bit of a foot in that Southern rock sound. Their
earlier albums had a touch of that. Obviously,
their cover of Leonard Skinner's Simple Man is
a staple that they play to this day. Maybe much
to the band's chagrin. And I will say that because
I had the... Amazing opportunity to have both
Eric Bass and Barry Kirch of Shinedown on the
podcast this year. And we talked all things about
the evolution of the band's music from the early
days through the new music they're working on
now, including Searchlight, which is going to
be a part of Shinedown 8, which comes out in
2026. Now, I don't want to give too much away,
but one of their songs that they also released
this year made my Songs of 2025 episode, which
if you haven't heard it, Go back to last week's
episode and check that out. That covers all genres
where this week is focused specifically on country
and the offsets of it. And Shinedown really nailed
it with this one. I feel like this one is going
to be an absolute home run for the band. Now,
lyrically for me personally, having lost my father
this year, some of the lyrics hit really close
to home. No one taught me how to let go. Been
hanging on a thread by a tightrope. but you could
still learn what you don't know, that's for sure.
The first time I heard those lyrics, it instantly
made me well up. I feel like it's my father talking
to me through music because one of the last conversations
that him and I had together was him telling me
that I need to let all the negativity in my life
go and just choose the things that bring me joy
and bring me happiness. And I feel like this
song really speaks to me in that sense, almost
on a spiritual sense. And I don't get into much
of that kind of conversation on the show, and
I'm not going to. However, a song like this definitely
moves the needle for me, both from a musical
perspective as well as just a personal lyrical
perspective. I hope to one day have Brent Smith
on the show to be able to dive into his lyrics
and solely his lyrics, because a lot of the stuff
they talk about in their music resonates with
me on a personal level. So maybe that's a goal
for my weekly mixtape in 2026. However, coming
out of Searchlight, I think I'm going to bring
in another collaboration that also resonated
with me a lot throughout the year. Again, on
that musical and, dare I use the word, spiritual
level. I feel like this next track flows pretty
naturally out of Searchlight for both musical
reasons at the song level, as well as artists
who are connected to each other on the stage,
either through touring or other things like that.
And again, go back to a song that was released
in 2024. However, this collaboration came out
in February of this year. So I feel like I'm
getting a little bit of a get out of jail free
card, I guess you'll call it. And this is another
big cross -pollinization of genres here because
this artist is contemporary Christian. And I'm
going to go with Brandon Lake featuring Jelly
Roll. who I mentioned earlier when I was talking
about the Morgan Wade and Shinedown connection
from his King of Hearts album, and I'm going
to go with Hard Fought Hallelujah. Besides the
stranglehold this song had on the contemporary
Christian charts as well as the country charts,
it was also a Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 hit. So
this blazed all sorts of trails. This song is
powerful, and it's emotional, and it definitely
grabs you by the heartstrings. Person of faith,
it might not resonate with you as much. But who
am I to say? To me, this song, considering the
fact it was a top 40 hit, obviously means it
resonated with a lot of people. And look, I had
to include Jelly Roll in some facet this year.
Not only has the dude put out some fantastic
music, he took some incredible bumps at SummerSlam
this year, if you are a WWE fan. And... Not only
did he take some major bumps, he took the pinfall.
And if anybody's a wrestling fan, I'm not going
to go too deep into my wrestling nerdom here.
But for a guest musician to appear on a WWE show,
usually they give them the victory. And he took
the three count, which is something you don't
see. So hat tip to Jelly Roll for that. He actually
handled himself so well in the ring. that I would
not be disappointed to see him show up again
for another round. And then earlier, like I mentioned,
there's that connection to Shinedown. Shinedown
brought Jelly Roll out on tour with them several
years ago before he really broke it big in the
country scene. And now Shinedown releases a song
that I think is going to be a huge staple on
country radio as we feed into 2026. Coincidence?
Maybe, maybe not, but... The common denominator
is Jelly Roll. But I also don't want to make
this all about Jelly Roll. The original is by
Brandon Lake, and the original is fantastic in
and of itself without the collaboration. The
collaboration just gives it that little something
extra that puts it over the edge, gave it that
crossover appeal, made the song more mainstream
because Jelly Roll is a mainstream name in 2025.
And I feel like him attaching himself to Brandon's
music has put a huge spotlight on Brandon's music
moving forward. And I'll be very curious to see
where his career goes. But as far as 2025 is
concerned, it's all about hard fought. Hallelujah.
But with that, it's going to be the last time
I dip back into 2024. I've done that enough this
year. The last three songs I'm going to go with
tonight all came out in the summer of 2025. And
all three have pretty much been on nonstop repeats
since each of their respective releases. And
I feel like these are the three that need to
close out my 2025 playlist. And I can guarantee
all three of them will be a huge part of my 2026
country playlist as well. The first. being Ashley
McBride's Rattlesnake Preacher, which was released
as a single in June of 2025. This song flat out
rocks. This is the type of song I can hear Blackberry
Smoke pulling out in a show and gender flipping
the shit out of it, and it's sounding amazing.
It's a country song, make no mistake about it,
but there's almost a touch of Southern rock in
the underlying elements of this track that really
set it apart from some of the other stuff. Ashley's
done over the years. Now, Ashley McBride is no
stranger to all the award shows. I've seen her
on TV many a times doing her thing. She's still
only playing theaters. And I have a feeling like
her time is coming. She's going to take that
jump to the next level because she just has that
it factor. And if Rattlesnake Preacher is the
first taste of what her next album is going to
be, I feel like this is going to be the album
that truly puts her into the top pantheon of
female country artists for 2026. And I do hope
that's the case because she's been consistently
doing her thing for quite a while now, and she
has such a commanding presence on that stage.
Her voice is top -notch. Look up any live video
of her. She sounds just as good on stage as she
does on the album. There are no studio theatrics
at play with her. She's real. She's authentic.
And she just has this presence, both musically
and on the stage, that's undeniable. And every
one of her albums, I feel like, is just a staircase,
each one consistently getting better than the
last one. And there's nothing wrong with anything
she's ever put out. Here's a test for you. Pick
any one of her albums, go to track one, hit play,
and enjoy. And yeah, I can't wait to see what
2026 has in store for Ashley McBride. I think
it's going to be a year to remember for her.
But following that up, I'm going to go with a
song that, I don't know, if you're a fan of this
artist, maybe it'll piss you off. Maybe it won't.
I don't know. But his 2025 album, Snipe Hunter,
which was produced by Rick Rubin. was maybe a
divisive listen if you were a fan of Tyler Childers'
music prior to 2025. Rick Rubin is definitely
one of those producers that brings out different
elements of artists. And I love what he does
because, I mean, look, the guy produced Tom Petty's
Wildflowers, so one of my favorite albums of
all time. Not to mention Beastie Boys, License
to Ill, Slayer, Seasons in the Abyss, Red Hot
Chili Peppers, Blood Sugar, Sex Magic. I mean,
I can just a list goes on and on and on, even
when you factor in some of his newer stuff, which
might be controversial to fans of those bands
like Metallica's Death Magnetic and Black Sabbath's
13. But over the years, he's had a lot more hits
than misses as far as I'm concerned. So I love
what Rick Rubin brings to the table here. And
from that album, I'm going to go with the song
that, in my humble opinion, is one of the greatest
songs to come out this year in any genre. Sadly,
it didn't make my list last week because I just
couldn't find a way to squeeze it in from a musical
slash playlisting standpoint. However, I do need
to make a note here tonight on this country episode
that Bite and List is one of the best songs to
come out in 2025, hands down, hard stop, period.
The song is fun, infectious. It's got that touch
of bluegrass, a little bit of an attitude to
it. There's a stank to the lyrics. I'm not a
big TikTok person, but I could see why a lot
of people were pulling this song for TikTok videos
throughout the year. This song just has that
it factor that is completely and utterly undeniable.
I mean, and some might not agree with me given
some of his earlier work. I think the entire
album is incredible, but I'll leave it up to
you to decide. However, if you haven't heard
Bite and List yet, you need to stop and remedy
that right away because this song is so much
frigging fun. You're going to play it at least
five or ten times on repeat before you move on
to the next tune. Now, earlier in the episode,
I talked about how some of the modern country
sounds throwback and hat tip to the 90s. And
I think no other song encapsulates that more
than the song I'm going to close out with tonight
and is my favorite country song of 2025. Very,
very slightly edging out by list, even though
these songs are back to back on my playlist.
So they probably at the end of the day got just
as much love. However, this was the one that
came on first in the playlist because it was
my go -to. And once again, it's a collaboration
and it's a mashup and it's a song within a song.
So it touches on modern country and dips into
nostalgia hardcore. And I'm perfectly okay with
that. Because back in the 90s, I would have discussions
with my college buddies about if Hootie and the
Blowfish were actually country or country rock
or rock where they stood in the musical spectrum.
Because back in the 90s, some Hootie and the
Blowfish songs were played on country radio.
So here we are in 2025 and Scotty McCreary puts
out the song Bottle Rockets featuring Hootie
and the Blowfish and incorporating, literally
weaving in elements of Hootie's Hold My Hand
into the single. But it's not done in a way that
borrows the song as an interpolation. They are
actually calling out the song as Hold My Hand
in the lyrics. Scotty is saying, I picked up
my guitar and sang, boom. And the two work so
well together that it is literally a song within
a song. And they weave in and out between Scotty's
tune and Hold My Hand, as well as both songs
happening simultaneously. And the vocals of Hootie
and the Blowfish in 2025 are just as lush and...
full as they were in 1995. And we're at the point
in 2025 where a song from 1995 is hitting that
peak nostalgia moment. I don't know what the
actual time frame is for a song to hit peak nostalgia.
However, in 2025, I can tell you that songs from
1995 are hitting it for me personally. So I'm
going to go with 30 years. However, considering
how many anniversary releases they put out and
re -releases, Five years, 10 years, 20 years.
I mean, unfortunately, this year there's been
some five months, six months, seven month deluxe
editions. But that being said, your mileage may
vary. This is one of those songs that every time
we went to the beach with my family this year,
this song got played and it got played over and
over again. And it never got old for me. Yes,
it's leaning into that peak nostalgia hardcore
for people that are my age. So bravo for Scotty
for leaning into that and doing it the right
way by bringing the original artist into the
fold and not just sampling the original song.
I think that might have done a disservice. So
actually having Hootie and the Blowfish come
and re -record parts for this song, I feel makes
it feel fresh and rejuvenated and new. And I
can say with 100 % certainty, it's going to be
something that I enjoy. thoroughly throughout
2026 as well, because there's just something
about it that works so well as an original, as
well as the magic that the mashup brings to the
table. However, Hold My Hand is a classic Hootie
and the Blowfish song, but I also bet there's
a younger audience, maybe some of Scotty's fans
that might be, I don't know, hearing Hootie and
the Blowfish for the first time and going back
to Crack View Mirror. In 2025 is not a bad listen.
If you haven't done it in a while, I highly suggest
you go back and give that album a listen because
it's definitely a good one. So closing out this
second half of my Country Songs of 2025 playlist
is Larkin Poe's Mockingbird, followed up by Shinedown's
Searchlight, their first foray into country music,
Brandon Lake featuring Jelly Roll's hard -fought
Hallelujah, Ashley McBride's Rattlesnake Preacher,
Tyler Childers' Bite and List, and Scotty McCreary
featuring Hootie and the Blowfish, Bottle Rockets.
Head over to MyWeeklyMixtape .com to hear all
the songs I've discussed in this mix through
the playlist embedded on the episode page. Now,
is there a country song that I didn't talk about
tonight that you feel should be included in the
Country Songs of 2025 discussion? I want to hear
from you. MyWeeklyMixtape at gmail .com. You
can find me on all the social media haunts at
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in order to keep this conversation going well
into 2026. Once again, my name is Brian Colburn.
This is my weekly mixtape, and I hope you enjoy
listening to the 12 songs I feel helped define
country music in 2025. We'll see you next week.