Surrounded by flames, amps cranked all the way up, and no f*cks given, Koe Wetzel leaves a trail of soldout venues, screaming fans, and empty booze bottles in his wake wherever he goes. Proudly hailing from Northeast Texas, he has quietly asserted himself as the ultimate country rockstar, bulldozing the boundaries between Nashville songcraft, rowdy Texas spirit, and rainswept Seattle hard rock. After moving 1 million units under the radar and popping off as one of the hottest live performers in the game, he welcomes everyone to the party on his 2022 full-length offering, Hell Paso [Columbia Records]. âI did what I wanted to do,â he exclaims. âThis was straight up me. Nobody told me to do this record. We pulled in every genre we were feeling at the time. We spent the last ten years trying to make this sound âHell Paso is it.â Never compromising, Koe might just be the last real rebel out there. The Gold-selling singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer shakes up the status quo, shatters expectations, and sticks to his guns with a sound steeped in country storytelling, yet spiked with grunge grit. Heâs unapologetic, undeniable, and unlike anyone else youâve ever heard. Without anything to prove and nothing to lose, he continues to kick ass on his own terms. Breaking through with a series of independent releases and tallying over 1.3 billion streams to date, he has impressively notched three RIAA Gold-certified singles, including âFebruary 28, 2016,â âSomething To Talk About,â and âDrunk Driving.â The latter adorned his 2020 Columbia Records debut, Sellout, which arrived to widespread critical acclaim from American Songwriter, Billboard, The Boot, Rolling Stone, and more. At the same time, he has quietly emerged as a powerhouse performer. He graced Pollstarâs âTop Worldwide Toursâ back-to-back in 2020 and 2021, moving hundreds of thousands of tickets in the process. In addition to headlining his own Koe Wetzelâs Incredible Music Festival, he has packed arenas, amphitheaters, and ballparks across North America, attracting a devout audience. At the top of 2022, Koe and longtime collaborator Taylor Kimball retreated to Sonic Ranch recording studioâa stoneâs throw from the Mexican border just outside of El Paso, TX. Holed up on a pecan farm for a month, they had nothing to do âexcept eat wonderful Mexican food and fucking play music.â âIt was straight-up bliss, man,â he says. âI couldnât go to the bar because there isnât one. I just had to make music!â Fittingly, he set the stage for Hell Paso with âApril Showers.â Powered by a galloping riff awash in distortion, it culminates on one of his most chantable choruses. âIt gives you a taste of the entire record,â he adds. âIt was a good song for everyone to jump into.â On its heels, the single âCreepsâ crawls on grimy guitar towards a sing-song refrain tailormade for stadium-size crowdsâor karaoke at your favorite old watering hole. âIt was a feel-good song for me,â he says. âIâm big into the Zombie apocalypse like The Walking Dead, so I wanted an apocalyptic zombie video for this b*tch.â Punctuated by nocturnal Spanish guitar and Spaghetti Western-style whistling, âCaboâ recounts a weekend of endless debauchery in Mexico with no shortage of gory details. âItâs a million percent true,â he grins. âIâve pissed off a lot of girlfriends and wives, but other than that itâs wonderful.â Hank Ealy from Turnpike Troubadours lays down tear-drenched pedal steel on âSo Lowâ where Koe confesses, âIâm so low itâs f*cking awesome. Makes me glad there ainât a cure for insane.â âIt was like nothing weâve ever done before, so I was like, âHell with it, put it on hereâ,â he says. âYellaBush Roadâ brings him back home with vulnerable verses and another vital hook, âAnd Iâm way too blessed to b*tch today.â ââYellaBush Roadâ is my community,â he goes on. âIt used to be a lot bigger. They had a school, a church, and everything out there. Now, thereâs not even a road sign for it. This is my hometown song though. You get on the road, you get away from everything you know, and you start to miss it. So, the tune puts me back there.â Then, thereâs âBetter Without You.â Guitar wails in between a punchy beat as he promises, âIâm doing better without you being around.â âI bought a house a year ago, and Iâve probably slept in my bed for maybe like two months out of the last year,â he notes. âI had to unpack everything in my garage. One of those boxes had all of my ex-girlfriendâs shit in it. It was raining outside. I was in one of those moods where I was like, âF*ck this, Iâm going to sit on the couch and grab a guitar.â Youâre over it, but youâre not really over it.â The ride reaches its emotional highpoint on âSad Song.â He concludes the record with a fiery final word. âI just got in the booth and sang,â he recalls. âIt was all in the moment.â In the end, thereâs nobody like Koe, and we should be really f*cking grateful. âWe brought everything together into one on Hell Paso,â he leaves off. âYouâve got to be yourself. Once I put out something authentic, it worked. This record is going to get a lot of flack, but itâs going to get a lot of love too. Iâm not going to stop. Hopefully, I go home at some point, kiss grandma, and sheâll maybe cook me breakfast.â
Surrounded by flames, amps cranked all the way up, and no f*cks given, Koe Wetzel leaves a trail of soldout venues, screaming fans, and empty booze bottles in his wake wherever he goes. Proudly hailing from Northeast Texas, he has quietly asserted himself as the ultimate country rockstar, bulldozing the boundaries between Nashville songcraft, rowdy Texas spirit, and rainswept Seattle hard rock. After moving 1 million units under the radar and popping off as one of the hottest live performers in the game, he welcomes everyone to the party on his 2022 full-length offering, Hell Paso [Columbia Records]. âI did what I wanted to do,â he exclaims. âThis was straight up me. Nobody told me to do this record. We pulled in every genre we were feeling at the time. We spent the last ten years trying to make this sound âHell Paso is it.â Never compromising, Koe might just be the last real rebel out there. The Gold-selling singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer shakes up the status quo, shatters expectations, and sticks to his guns with a sound steeped in country storytelling, yet spiked with grunge grit. Heâs unapologetic, undeniable, and unlike anyone else youâve ever heard. Without anything to prove and nothing to lose, he continues to kick ass on his own terms. Breaking through with a series of independent releases and tallying over 1.3 billion streams to date, he has impressively notched three RIAA Gold-certified singles, including âFebruary 28, 2016,â âSomething To Talk About,â and âDrunk Driving.â The latter adorned his 2020 Columbia Records debut, Sellout, which arrived to widespread critical acclaim from American Songwriter, Billboard, The Boot, Rolling Stone, and more. At the same time, he has quietly emerged as a powerhouse performer. He graced Pollstarâs âTop Worldwide Toursâ back-to-back in 2020 and 2021, moving hundreds of thousands of tickets in the process. In addition to headlining his own Koe Wetzelâs Incredible Music Festival, he has packed arenas, amphitheaters, and ballparks across North America, attracting a devout audience. At the top of 2022, Koe and longtime collaborator Taylor Kimball retreated to Sonic Ranch recording studioâa stoneâs throw from the Mexican border just outside of El Paso, TX. Holed up on a pecan farm for a month, they had nothing to do âexcept eat wonderful Mexican food and fucking play music.â âIt was straight-up bliss, man,â he says. âI couldnât go to the bar because there isnât one. I just had to make music!â Fittingly, he set the stage for Hell Paso with âApril Showers.â Powered by a galloping riff awash in distortion, it culminates on one of his most chantable choruses. âIt gives you a taste of the entire record,â he adds. âIt was a good song for everyone to jump into.â On its heels, the single âCreepsâ crawls on grimy guitar towards a sing-song refrain tailormade for stadium-size crowdsâor karaoke at your favorite old watering hole. âIt was a feel-good song for me,â he says. âIâm big into the Zombie apocalypse like The Walking Dead, so I wanted an apocalyptic zombie video for this b*tch.â Punctuated by nocturnal Spanish guitar and Spaghetti Western-style whistling, âCaboâ recounts a weekend of endless debauchery in Mexico with no shortage of gory details. âItâs a million percent true,â he grins. âIâve pissed off a lot of girlfriends and wives, but other than that itâs wonderful.â Hank Ealy from Turnpike Troubadours lays down tear-drenched pedal steel on âSo Lowâ where Koe confesses, âIâm so low itâs f*cking awesome. Makes me glad there ainât a cure for insane.â âIt was like nothing weâve ever done before, so I was like, âHell with it, put it on hereâ,â he says. âYellaBush Roadâ brings him back home with vulnerable verses and another vital hook, âAnd Iâm way too blessed to b*tch today.â ââYellaBush Roadâ is my community,â he goes on. âIt used to be a lot bigger. They had a school, a church, and everything out there. Now, thereâs not even a road sign for it. This is my hometown song though. You get on the road, you get away from everything you know, and you start to miss it. So, the tune puts me back there.â Then, thereâs âBetter Without You.â Guitar wails in between a punchy beat as he promises, âIâm doing better without you being around.â âI bought a house a year ago, and Iâve probably slept in my bed for maybe like two months out of the last year,â he notes. âI had to unpack everything in my garage. One of those boxes had all of my ex-girlfriendâs shit in it. It was raining outside. I was in one of those moods where I was like, âF*ck this, Iâm going to sit on the couch and grab a guitar.â Youâre over it, but youâre not really over it.â The ride reaches its emotional highpoint on âSad Song.â He concludes the record with a fiery final word. âI just got in the booth and sang,â he recalls. âIt was all in the moment.â In the end, thereâs nobody like Koe, and we should be really f*cking grateful. âWe brought everything together into one on Hell Paso,â he leaves off. âYouâve got to be yourself. Once I put out something authentic, it worked. This record is going to get a lot of flack, but itâs going to get a lot of love too. Iâm not going to stop. Hopefully, I go home at some point, kiss grandma, and sheâll maybe cook me breakfast.â
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