Kaitlin Butts; Photo by Thomas Crabtree
With her new album, Hello, Honky Tonk, on the horizon, Kaitlin Butts found the perfect way to reveal the track list: by turning to honky-tonks to help her spread the word.
The Tulsa-born singer-songwriter enlisted honky-tonks from around the world to help unveil the track listing for her fourth studio album, which is set to arrive October 30.
Since Monday, honky-tonks and legendary music venues have been revealing a new song from Butts’ upcoming album each day, giving fans a unique way to discover the track list. The weeklong rollout has reached venues across the U.S. and beyond, from Nashville and Tulsa to Texas, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Sydney and London, unveiling all 14 songs along the way.
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After a week of daily reveals, the full list of participating honky-tonks and music venues includes stops across the U.S. and abroad: Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth, Texas; Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma; the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee; Luckenbach Texas in Luckenbach, Texas; Showboat Saloon in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin; Jolene’s in Sydney, Australia; Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in Jackson, Wyoming; Tower Theatre in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; John T. Floore’s Country Store in Helotes, Texas; Skinny Dennis in Nashville, Tennessee; Harry’s Northgate in College Station, Texas; Duke’s of Highgate in London, England; Brewster Street in Corpus Christi, Texas; and The Newberry in Great Falls, Montana.
“Hello, Honky Tonk is really a world of its own,” Butts shared. “There are all these characters and stories and little moments happening inside of it, so I thought it would be fun to let the places that inspired that world introduce the songs. Honky tonks are where these stories live, so who better to tell you what’s coming?”
Hello, Honky Tonk is a love letter to the honky-tonks and nightlife that have shaped Kaitlin Butts’ life and career, becoming a big part of her journey on the road. Recorded in Nashville with producer Tofer Brown (Carter Faith, Willow Avalon, Little Big Town), the album brings to life a honky-tonk filled with colorful characters listeners might recognize from the dance floor, behind the bar or tucked away in a corner booth.
Partly inspired by the vaudeville-style scenes in Chicago and Disney World’s Country Bear Musical Jamboree, Butts imagined Hello, Honky Tonk as a place where all of these characters could come together.
“The thought behind the concept was how in Chicago, the character Roxie Hart is dreaming up what her show would look like and all the people in it,” Butts explained. “I picture all of this happening at Skinny Dennis here in Nashville. These are all the different people in the room. There’s the bar fight that’s happening. There’s the bad girl that just got off work. There’s me being the entertainer. There are so many people that really love the nightlife. It’s a connector for people.”
HELLO, HONKY TONK: TRACK LISTING
- Introducing: Hello Honky Tonk (Kaitlin Butts)
- I Wanna Be Bad (Kaitlin Butts, Natalie Hemby)
- The Bartender (Kaitlin Butts, Tofer Brown, Natalie Hemby)
- Never Really Mine (Kaitlin Butts, Lola Kirke, Maggie Antone)
- I Make Cowboys Cry (Kaitlin Butts, Shane McAnally)
- The Joker (Kaitlin Butts, Jessie Jo Dillon, Sasha Alex Sloan)
- Everybody Wanna Sing a Country Song (Kaitlin Butts, Tofer Brown, Luke White)
- What More Could You Want (Kaitlin Butts, Tofer Brown, Natalie Hemby)
- Still Got It (Kaitlin Butts)
- Crazy I Can Be (Kaitlin Butts, Tofer Brown, Lauren Hungate)
- That Makes One Of Us (Kaitlin Butts, Lori McKenna)
- Hell I Don’t Know ( Kaitlin Butts, Natalie Hemby, Luke Dick)
- Bacon Naked (Take It From Me) (Kaitlin Butts, Natalie Hemby)
- Midnight I’ll Always Be Yours (Kaitlin Butts, Jessi Alexander, Jon Randall)
The track list reveal follows the release of three songs from the album: “What More Could You Want,” “I Wanna Be Bad” and “Never Really Mine.”
Butts will celebrate the release of Hello, Honky Tonk with her Hello, Honky Tonk Live and In Person Tour, which kicks off October 29 at Nashville’s Skinny Dennis. The show sold out in just four hours, with additional tour stops planned across Texas and Oklahoma in December.
HELLO, HONKY TONK LIVE AND IN PERSON TOUR DATES
Oct. 29 — Nashville, TN — Skinny Dennis SOLD OUT
Dec. 10 — College Station, TX — Harry’s Northgate
Dec. 11 — Helotes, TX — Floore’s Country Store
Dec. 12 — Corpus Christi, TX — Brewster Street Ice House
Dec. 17 — Oklahoma City, OK — Tower Theatre
Dec. 18 — Fort Worth, TX — Billy Bob’s Texas