stephen wilson jr released the new single “Preacher’s Kid” with a backstory that sounds like confession and field notes at once. The song arrives after his first ACM Award and while he keeps a crowded run of festival dates, support slots, and Nashville shows in motion.
Stephen Wilson Jr and Tim Cofield
“preachers kid (pk): based on a true story(s). I saw the light that was the underbelly of a catfish & it can be as compelling fodder for storytelling as any other abstract inspirer. Broken and conflicted like us all, a small town can be a world. Another world within a world when the world was once much smaller. While being adamantly instructed to avoid the worldly, I attended a class in church that taught you how to speak in tongues & that swearing is sin. I witnessed exorcisms before lunch & a crying youth pastor preaching an impending Armageddon stole my girlfriend in high school.”
That is the frame he gave for “Preacher’s Kid,” and it is less a neat origin story than a stack of memories from one life. Wilson Jr. ties the single to church instruction, exorcisms, and a high school breakup, which makes the track sound built from autobiography rather than polish.
Last month, Wilson Jr. won his first ACM Award for Visual Media of the Year for the official video for “Cuckoo,” which he co-directed with Tim Cofield. Earlier this year, he released the official video for “Gary,” his ninth collaboration with Cofield, extending a run that has become part of his current rollout rather than a one-off detour.
Railbird and Nashville dates
Late last year, Wilson Jr. premiered “Gary” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and also performed it on This Past Weekend with Theo Von and The Howard Stern Show. This weekend he will perform at Railbird Music Festival, then return to Nashville on Sunday for CMA Fest at Nissan Stadium, keeping “Preacher’s Kid” in the middle of an already active live calendar.
On September 4, he will support Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge Amphitheater, and on September 11-13 he will support Brandi Carlile at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. His Gary The Torch Tour will culminate with two shows at The Truth in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 11 and 12, so the new single drops into a campaign that still has a long runway in the U.S. and Europe.
Gary The Torch Tour
The practical read is simple: “Preacher’s Kid” is not a standalone release, but the latest piece in a run that pairs recorded work with a heavy live schedule and repeat collaboration with Cofield. For listeners, the single adds a new chapter to a catalog Wilson Jr. is actively building while he moves through festival slots, arena support dates, and the Nashville finish line in December.
