Country Music Albums Coming in 2026: Luke Combs, Megan Moroney

Title: The Way I Am
Release Date: March 20

After a detour into heart-tugging material with 2024’s personal Fathers & Sons album, Combs came roaring back with high-profiles appearances at Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza and barnburner singles like “My Kinda Saturday Night” and “Back in the Saddle.” Those songs, as well as the smoldering new ballad “Sleepless in a Hotel Room,” are all set to appear on The Way I Am, the North Carolina singer’s sixth studio album, dropping this spring with a tour to follow. —J.H.

Title: With Heaven on Top
Release Date: Jan. 9

After releasing three albums in three years, Bryan took all of last year to work on his forthcoming record. He also went through a whole lot of life, including a high-profile break-up and a subsequent under-the-radar marriage. As early as the fall of 2024, however, the infamously prolific Bryan had 14 songs written. “I’m not sure how I wanna record a lot of ’em,” he told Bruce Springsteen in a Rolling Stone cover story. “This is the first time in my life where I’ve given myself time not to know.” On Instagram this month, Bryan promised With Heaven on Top would arrive on Jan. 9. “Hope you don’t hate it,” he wrote. —J.B.

Title: TBD
Release Date: Summer/Fall

The Oklahoma singer, songwriter, and proud theater kid finally leveled up with 2024’s Road Runner! and its viral single “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead to Me).” Now signed to Republic Records and firing on all cylinders — her cover of Don Williams’ “Tulsa Time” bristles with confidence — Butts is expected to drop a bold new album sometime around the third quarter. We’re ready for it. —J.H.

Title: Act 1
Release Date: Jan. 23

Kulpepper has already released a solid chunk of his anticipated debut (eight of the album’s 18 songs, to be exact), including a tender duet with Sierra Ferrell and a bluesy scorcher with Marcus King. If what we’ve heard so far is any indication, expect 2026 to be a breakthrough year for this Alabama singer (see the poignant “Man of His Word”). —J.B.

Title: Cloud 9
Release Date: Feb. 20

Megan Moroney delivered Lucky in green, Am I Okay? in blue — and now she’s floating into a pink Cloud 9 for her third album. When announcing the project, Moroney said it was written by “the strongest, most confident version of myself.” While she hasn’t revealed a track list yet, she’s promised there’s an evolution here. “Similar to the first two albums, it’s all written about honest, personal experiences,” she said in a statement. “My feet feel firmly planted in my artistry and it was fun to play around sonically, while still sticking to my roots of what my fans and I love. Cloud 9 is a state of mind, and I have no doubt this will be the best chapter yet.” —T.M.

Title: TBA
Release Date: TBA

It’s been three years since Stephen Wilson Jr. dropped his debut album Son of Dad and fans are still streaming the double LP and selling out his shows. Finally, they’ll have new songs to connect with when the Indiana native, boxer, and onetime microbiologist releases his Son of Dad follow-up in 2026. Details are scarce, but Wilson has previewed a few songs in concert that could appear on the project, along with one that’s a shoo-in: the celebration of the working class, “Gary.” “I write songs from a rural perspective and a blue-collar perspective,” he told RS. — J.H.

Title: In Defense of Drinking
Release Date: Feb. 13

The South Dakota songwriter laments his penchant for breaking hearts — but has no plans to change — on this introspective, even self-critical, full-length. Co-produced by Halverson, Ryan Youmans, and Muscadine Bloodline’s Gary Stanton, the album hearkens back to the love-and-leave-’em lifestyles led by rodeo singers and outlaws, with songs like “Fort Worth Losing” and “More Hearts Than Horses.” It’s unapologetic country music from a promising indie voice. —J.H.

Title: TBA
Release Date: TBA

We don’t have any hard info on Bingham’s forthcoming LP, but we know the Yellowstone star has been amassing material with the Texas Gentlemen — the all-star collective of players from the Lone Star State — for the last few years. (Check out last September’s “The Lucky Ones.”) Expect a dynamic record that mixes happy and sad and combines ballads with full-band rockers. “There’s some pretty sweet love songs in there that are fun,” Bingham told People last fall. But fear not: “I’ve got plenty of sad cowboy songs in the can.” —J.B.

Title: TBA
Release Date: Summer

McBryde is so pumped for her new album, which features songs co-written with Jessie Jo Dillon and Laura Veltz, like “Hand Me Downs,” that she cried while listening to the rough mixes in her car — and posted her emotional reaction online. “I wrote the damn thing… and I kept staring at the dash, like, ‘Why would you do that to me?’” McBryde said. Expect the complete album in the summer. —J.H.

Title: TBA
Release Date: Spring

The Texas rough-houser is reuniting with producer Gabe Simon to craft the follow-up to 2024’s 9 Lives, a record that introduced Wetzel’s hard-rock-meets-country sound to a new audience. He guested on Corey Kent’s “Rocky Mountain Low” in December and dropped a pair of new songs, “Werewolf” and “Surrounded,” over the last few months, but we’re excited for the whole enchilada this spring, a record that’s poised to really put Wetzel, the ultimate if-you-know-you-know artist, over the top. —J.H.

Title: TBA
Release Date: Spring

Word on the street is that Midland are teaming up with a real cowboy producer for their next album, the follow-up to 2024’s Barely Blue. A recent Instagram performance teased a new song called “Marlboro Man,” and it sure is rich with Western imagery. The Texas trio were ahead of the real-country curve when they first released “Drinkin’ Problem” back in 2017; we’re excited to see what they have under their Stetsons this go-round. —J.H.

Title: TBA
Release Date: TBA

“There’s never been a better time for country music than right now,” Texas native Braxton Keith told RS last year. “Country music is country again.” For proof, listen to Keith’s stunner of a cover of George Strait’s “The Chair,” which he dropped late last year. It’s unclear if his version will make his new album — he’s in the studio now — but Keith has voiced his dedication to paying tribute to the past while carving new paths. “My music has an Eighties vibe with a new school twist,” he said. “You gotta adapt or die.” —J.H.

Title: TBA
Release Date: TBA

What we know? The breakout star is releasing the follow-up to her 2024 debut album Hungover in 2026. What we’re hearing? A producer that’ll knock your boots off. What we’re hoping for? If the LP is half as good as “Choosin’ Texas,” Langley’s career-making song, it’ll contend for the year’s best country album. —J.H.

Title: TBA
Release Date: Summer

Texas’s most unsung country band rebranded from Mike & the Moonpies to Silverada in 2024 and released a thrilling self-titled album that showed exactly where they were headed: twangy songs with inspired jams and sharp lyrics (we still play the LP’s standout, “Eagle Rare,” daily). Now, with new member Parker Twomey on keys, Mike Harmeier and co. are set to return with an even more bold record. It may or may not have been played for us…and it rips. —J.H.

Title: TBA
Release Date: Spring

Cauthen is one of country music’s most enigmatic artists — we’re still not entirely sure if 2021’s “Country As Fuck” was to be taken seriously. We do know, however, that the Texas rabble-rouser has a record coming this spring with new producers at the helm. Cauthen, who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last year, has showed no signs of slowing down, aside from a scuttled tour last February. His latest release, November’s “Bayou by You,” points toward a new album full of swampy, muddy sounds. —J.H.