How a Southern Indiana Artist is Making 'Death Cab for Country' (2025)

Every once in a while, you stumble across an artist whose talent makes you stop dead in your tracks and truly listen. This man from rural southern Indiana is no exception.

I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to listen to a lot of live country music this year. My favorite concert was one I attended in Cincinnati, Ohio, back in July, featuring Travis Denning, Kip Moore, and HARDY—the main headliner. The show was part of HARDY's Quit! tour, which featured music from his latest album of the same name. Many have described this artist's music as "emo country," which is essentially a combination of punk rock and country. While not traditional in any sense, I still loved it.

'Death Cab for Country'

Over the past several months, I've been diving deeper into this subcategory of modern country music, and recently, I stumbled across an artist who instantly took me by surprise. A native of rural southern Indiana, this artist describes himself as "Death Cab for Country," which is a play on the name of an alternative rock group called Death Cab for Cutie. His music has a distinct sound influenced by artists as diverse as The National, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Nirvana. If you haven't heard of him yet, let me be the first to introduce you to Stephen Wilson Jr.

Who isStephen Wilson Jr.?

According to AllMusic, Wilson Jr. was raised in Seymour, Indiana, by a single father and professional boxer. The artist actually spent his younger years in the boxing ring himself and eventually became an Indiana State Golden Gloves finalist. Think that's crazy? Wilson Jr. later went on to earn a dual degree in microbiology and chemistry from Middle Tennessee State University. Through it all, he became a self-taught guitarist and co-founded the indie rock outfit AutoVaughn after finishing college.

Wilson Jr. spent five years touring the world as lead guitarist with AutoVaughn before he left for a job in his original field of study. He worked for several years as an R&D scientist at Mars, Inc., until signing a publishing deal with BMG Nashville in 2016. According to his official website, his songs were soon recorded by artists such as Caitlyn Smith, Brothers Osborne, Old Dominion, and MacKenzie Porter. Wilson Jr. would later go on to self-release several songs and, in 2023, signed with Big Loud Records.

Stephen Wilson Jr. Collaborates with HARDY

Wilson Jr. is currently closing out his 2024 Son of Dad tour, featuring songs from his latest album, including "Year to Be Young 1994" and "Father's Son." Earlier this year, he sat down with HARDY to record an acoustic version of the latter, and I must say, it's absolutely incredible. Both artists are insanely talented, and it was really cool to see them vibing together. Plus, the song itself is beautiful and explores Wilson Jr.'s own identity and relationship with his father, who passed away in 2018.

Stephen Wilson Jr. Performs Unreleased Original Song

Wilson Jr. was recently onLive at the Print Shop, which is a YouTube monthly live concert series. While on the program, he performed a trulybreathtaking cover of "Stand By Me"along with one of his unreleased songs titled "I'm a Song." The performance captures not only Wilson Jr.'s acoustic guitar playing skills, but also his distinct vocals, which really resonate through this one. Before getting into the song, Wilson Jr. noted that the tune was special.

"It's a tough one for me to play, but I'll do it anyway," the artist said with a smile. "It was my dad's favorite song of mine. He told me it was his favorite song ever."

Personally, I'm hoping to see an official release of the song above, but as of Dec. 9, 2024, no such announcement has been made. In the meantime, the artist has several other great songs that fans of this style of country/folk music are bound to enjoy. I would imagine we'll be seeing a lot more of Mr. Wilson Jr. in the future.