NASHVILLE, Tenn. - November 10, 2023 - Chris Stapleton’s highly anticipated new album Higher is out today via Mercury Nashville. Stream/purchase HERE.
Additionally, Stapleton was nominated for three awards for the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards: Best Country Solo Performance (“White Horse”), Best Country Song (“White Horse”) and Best Country Duo/Group Performance (“We Don’t Fight Anymore” with Carly Pearce). The awards ceremony will broadcast live on CBS from Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena Sunday, February 4 at 8:00pm ET.
Produced by Dave Cobb, Morgane Stapleton and Chris Stapleton, Higher was recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A and is already receiving widespread critical acclaim:
“dazzling…the best evidence yet for the way one man’s voice has become synonymous with the very idea of a musical genre”— Rolling Stone
“his leaps, quavers and evasions of the beat can be traced to Al Green. But Stapleton brings his own drama and grit to the style”—The New York Times
“Stapleton’s enigmatic voice – known for its raw versatility, so anchored in his chosen musical genre with an unusual ability to transcend it – is as present as ever…No one is immune when Stapleton’s textured, bellowing ballads play”—Associated Press
“finds Stapleton pairing an outlaw swagger with some heaven-scraping vocals”—Billboard
“one of the most consistent quantities in country music”—Vulture
“certainly suggests that Stapleton is leaning into his strengths as a cross-genre act”
—Consequence
“an arena-conquering giant”—Stereogum
“If you want to set the bar, start—as always—with Chris Stapleton”—Hits Daily Double
“One of country’s modern vocal masters extends a streak of next-level artistry…his growling grace and understated charm remain in fine form over 14 tracks, as a future Hall of Famer climbs on”—Nashville Lifestyles
“The consistency Chris Stapleton has with all of his releases is mind-blowing…This man does not miss”—Whiskey Riff
In celebration of the release, Stapleton was featured on NBC’s “Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist” and recently spoke with GQ, who praises, “In an age rife with division, he’s maybe the only thing Americans all agree on…one of the most reliable hit makers in music.” Read the full GQ Hype cover story HERE.
The release adds to yet another landmark year for Stapleton, who was named Male Vocalist of the Year for the seventh time at the 57th Annual CMA Awards earlier this week, breaking his own record for most wins ever in the category. Stapleton also performed twice during the live awards broadcast: his current single, “White Horse,” and “We Don’t Fight Anymore” with Carly Pearce.
Known for his electric live performances, the 8x Grammy, 16x CMA and 15x ACM Award-winner will continue his “All-American Road Show” through next year including stops at San Diego’s Petco Park, Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium, Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl (two nights), Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena (two nights), Cleveland’s Blossom Music Center and Philadelphia’s Freedom Mortgage Pavilion among several others. See below for complete itinerary.
Alongside Stapleton (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide electric guitar), the new album features Cobb (acoustic guitar, eclectic guitar), J.T. Cure (bass), Paul Franklin (pedal steel), Derek Mixon (drums), Morgane (background vocals, synthesizer, tambourine) and Lee Pardini (organ, piano).
photo credit: Becky Fluke
One of the country’s most respected and beloved musicians, in the past year Stapleton was named Entertainer of the Year at the 58th ACM Awards—resulting in a prestigious ACM Triple Crown Award. Additionally, in February, he performed the National Anthem at Super Bowl LVII and has collaborated in recent years with Adele, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Justin Timberlake, P!nk, Sheryl Crow, Santana and many more.
The new album follows 2020’s acclaimed Starting Over, which went on to win three awards at the 67th Annual GRAMMYs: Best Country Album, Best Country Solo Performance (“You Should Probably Leave”) and Best Country Song (“Cold”) in addition to earning Album of the Year honors at both the CMA and ACM Awards. Called a “a sure-footed masterpiece” by the Associated Press, the album landed on “Best of 2020” lists at NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Esquire, Vulture, The Tennessean, and The New York Times, who declared, “Chris Stapleton’s roar isn’t designed to scare you off. It’s regal, an announcement of an alpha figure asserting his primacy…on this, his fourth album, the thrill is back.” Prior to Starting Over, Stapleton released a pair of Platinum-certified releases in 2017—From A Room: Volume 1 and From A Room: Volume 2—as well as his x5 Platinum breakthrough solo debut album in 2015, Traveller.
In addition to their work as musicians, the Stapletons are founders of the Outlaw State of Kind charitable fund, which supports a variety of causes that are close to their heart.
