Earlier this year Stephen Wilson Jr. previewed his new song “Gary” during a sold-out show at Nashville's Brooklyn Bowl and spoke at length with Rolling Stone about its meaning. country singer and songwriter who mixes grunge sounds with heartland rock, finally released the studio version of “Gary” early Wednesday morning.
“I grew up in an auto repair shop. My family, each of them can fix anything, not because they are mechanical geniuses, but because they just had fix everything,” Wilson said. RS. “There's no money to hire somebody to fix something, so you just have to learn how to fix it. And where I come from, Gary, they do it. It's like, 'Dude, you need to call Gary.'
Wilson made his live debut of “Gary” at Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night and then released the song on streaming services. “Gary” is the first single from his upcoming album, the follow-up to his acclaimed 2023 album. Daddy's son LP.
“Time is running out of the city, but the minute hand remains. There aren’t too many boys named Gary these days,” Wilson sings, lamenting a present where dirty hands aren’t as valued as they once were.
“I grew up in a generation where you can go to college and to hell with the professions,” he said. Rolling Stone. “But we're in a society that's missing Garys. And it would be scary if we didn't have our Garys. I hope we recognize and start celebrating them rather than forgetting them.”
Wilson recently announced his Gary the Torch Tour, a new concert series that kicks off March 6 in Columbus, Ohio, and will hit major cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago and New York. Ahead of his new tour, Wilson wraps up 2025 with shows in Las Vegas and a pair of shows at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville next week.
The Indiana native is also scheduled to perform at the 2025 CMA Awards on Wednesday night. He'll be pulling double duty on stage in Nashville, performing his new interpretation of the Ben E. King song. “Stay with me” and collaborating with Shaboozey for their “Took a Walk” collaboration. Wilson is nominated for New Artist of the Year.
