The Iowa-born, Nashville-based rising star Hailey Whitters released her new single ‘The Neon‘ from her highly anticipated third album RAISED that will be released on March 18th 2022 via Pigasus Records/Songs & Daughters/Big Loud Records. The single arrives with a Harper Smith-directed lyric video shot at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge in Nashville, TN. RAISED is now available for preorder.
“I wrote ‘The Neon’ with Lori McKenna and Rodney Clawson about a broken-hearted bender on the town,” Whitters explains. “It was our first time writing together and Lori brought in the title. I think the next line that came out of the room that day was ‘here comes the sad part’ and we instantly knew it was this ‘tear in my beer’ type lyric. I love getting to tap into this song emotionally every time I sing it. Whenever I’m feelin’ blue, there’s no broken heart a barstool and a cold beer (or shot of tequila) can’t fix.”
Last month, Whitters released the album’s debut single ‘Everything She Ain’t‘, which was praised by American Songwriter, BrooklynVegan, Rolling Stone and Billboard who said, “Whitters has proven herself a stellar songwriter and artist in equal measure… handclaps and sweet fiddle lines boost Whitters’ charming vocal and razor-sharp wordplay.”
The 17-song album was co-produced by Whitters alongside producer Jake Gear, who produced Whitters’ 2020 release THE DREAM and the subsequent deluxe album LIVING THE DREAM, and was engineered by Logan Matheny. The album also finds Whitters reconnecting with co-writers Brandy Clark, Nicolle Galyon, Hillary Lindsey, and Lori McKenna.
RAISED finds Whitters reconnecting with her Midwestern roots and hometown of Shueyville, IA, reflecting on family, first kisses, and life amid sprawling cornfields. “This record is where I’m from, this is me. It feels like the prequel to THE DREAM,” explains Whitters. “These are the people and this is the place that made that 17-year-old girl leave everything she’d ever known to pursue a career in country music and not give up over the last 14 years.”
Hailey Whitters is currently in the midst of her debut headline HEARTLAND TOUR that will make stops in New York, Philadelphia and Boston next week, before she travels to the UK & Ireland to play the main stage at C2C Festival. On June 17th, she will return to the Ryman Auditorium stage to support American Aquarium, who feature on Hailey’s forthcoming song ‘Middle Of America’. Tickets are on sale now at HaileyWhitters.com.
RAISED Tracklist:
1) Ad Astra Per Alas Porci (Jordan Lehning, Pedro Palomino)
2) Raised (Hailey Whitters, Nicolle Galyon, Forest Glen Whitehead)
3) Everything She Ain’t (Hailey Whitters, Bryan Simpson, Ryan Tyndell)
4) Big Family (Hailey Whitters, Cameron Bedell, Nicolle Galyon)
5) Middle Of America (feat. American Aquarium) (Hailey Whitters, Bobby Pinson)
6) Plain Jane (Hailey Whitters, Hillary Lindsey, Cary Barlowe)
7) College Town (Hailey Whitters, Nicolle Galyon, Jimmy Robbins)
8) Interlude (Hailey Whitters, Pedro Palomino)
9) Boys Back Home (Hailey Whitters, Brandy Clark, Jessie Jo Dillon)
10) Everybody Oughta (Matt Roy, Craig Wiseman)
11) Pretty Boy (Hailey Whitters, Scooter Carusoe, Tom Douglas)
12) The Neon (Hailey Whitters, Rodney Clawson, Lori McKenna)
13) The Grassman (Hailey Whitters, Aaron Raitiere)
14) Our Grass Is Legal (Hailey Whitters)
15) Beer Tastes Better (Hailey Whitters, Lori McKenna)
16) In A Field Somewhere (Hailey Whitters, Jeff Hyde, Bryan Simpson)
17) Ad Astra Per Alas Porci (Reprise) (Jordan Lehning, Pedro Palomino)
Tour Dates:
Feb 19 – Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Café & Music Hall
Feb 22 – New York, NY – The Mercury Lounge
Feb 24 – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
Feb 25 – Philadelphia, PA – The Foundry at The Fillmore
March 11 – Glasgow, United Kingdom – The OVO Hydro – C2C: Country To Country Festival
March 12 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena – C2C: Country To Country Festival
March 13 – London, United Kingdom – The O2 – C2C: Country To Country Festival
March 25 – Decatur, GA – Eddie’s Attic
March 26 – Birmingham, AL – Zydeco
April 8 – Lake Buena Vista, FL – House of Blues Orlando *
April 10 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Tortuga Music Festival
April 14 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall-Upstairs
April 15 – New Braunfels, TX – Whitewater Amphitheater #
April 16 – New Braunfels, TX – Whitewater Amphitheater #
April 22 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
April 23 – Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern
April 26 – Felton, CA – Felton Music Hall
April 29 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
May 1 – Indio, CA – Stagecoach Festival
May 6 – Swisher, IA – DanceMor Ballroom
May 7 – Swisher, IA – DanceMor Ballroom
June 17 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium**
July 9 – Fort Laramie, OH – Country Concert 2022 – Saloon Stage
July 29 – George, WA – Watershed Festival
# – with Jon Pardi and Lainey Wilson
* – with Jordan Davis
** – with American Aquarium