For more than 20 years, singer-songwriter Wade Bowen has nurtured a deep and abiding love affair with country music. But like any relationship, the passion behind it has ebbed and flowed.
A proud member of the Texan troubadour tradition, Bowen’s independent streak has taken him far beyond his home state’s creative borders, bringing both artistic respect and the cold-hard currency of national success along with it. Six studio albums filled with unmistakable vocals, self-penned prairie-land poetry and a roadhouse rocker’s edge led to dozens of Texas radio hits, a digital tally of nearly 225 million streams and thousands of headlining shows – and slowly, it all took a toll.
Writer’s block and a vocal surgery finally shut Bowen down in 2018, forcing his first break in years. He was still recovering when the pandemic followed, leaving him adrift and unsure of his musical heading… But love always finds a way. Bowen’s new album, Somewhere Between The Secret And The Truth, marks his first new solo material in four years. And clearly, the creative spark is back.
“It feels like I’m renewing my vows,” Bowen says of the album. “I love waking up knowing what my purpose is, what my direction is, and also feeling like there’s so much more left to do. I didn’t feel that for a long time, but now I feel revived.”
Featuring 12 new tracks, all written by Bowen with a small group of Nashville’s sharpest minds – Lori McKenna, Heather Morgan, Eric Paslay and Randy Montana among them – the revival brings Bowen back into his wheelhouse, back to what he’s always done best. But it’s also a step forward.
Exacting lyrics filled with vivid detail and often-conflicted characters; gritty landscapes and a warm vocal that buzzes like a neon sign – those things remain. For the first time, though, Bowen also takes on the role of sole producer, adding another element to his uncompromising vision.
Drawing on ‘80s and ‘90s country and dreaming of a return to the stage, each track on Somewhere Between The Secret And The Truth was built for maximum live-show impact, embracing the keep-it-simple motto he’d long left behind.
“I wanted to make sure we didn’t overthink these songs,” Bowen explains. “There’s not a bunch of minor chords or eerie, intensity-driven stuff – even though I’ve always had a lot of pride in those moments in the past. This record is written simply and that’s on purpose, to have enough space to be big and for the band to go somewhere with it.”
Offering a new take on a classic cheating ballad – one that matches moral ambiguity with striking realism and an optimistic payoff – the idea became ‘Somewhere Between The Secret And The Truth’ It gave the album its thematic anchor.
“I think it sums up our collective feelings in the last few years, and also sums up country music in one great line,” Bowen says. “We’re all roaming this earth somewhere between the secret and the truth, and this is a great way to show the characters I love to write about. What we choose to reveal to others – or not reveal – really says a lot about who we are.”
The track listing for ‘Somewhere Between the Secret and the Truth’ is:
- Everything Has Your Memory (Wade Bowen, Eric Paslay, Heather Morgan)
- Burnin’ Both Ends of the Bar (Wade Bowen, Randy Montana)
- Honky Tonk Roll (Wade Bowen, Randy Montana)
- The Secret To This Town (Wade Bowen, Heather Morgan)
- If You Don’t Miss Me (Wade Bowen, Ray Fulcher)
- A Beautiful World featuring Lori McKenna (Wade Bowen, Lori McKenna)
- She’s Driving Me Crazy (Wade Bowen, Eric Paslay, Heather Morgan)
- Knowing Me Like I Do (Wade Bowen, Clint Ingersoll)
- It’s Gonna Hurt (Wade Bowen, Drew Kennedy)
- Say Goodbye (Wade Bowen, Eric Paslay, Heather Morgan)
- A Guitar, A Singer and A Song featuring Vince Gill (Wade Bowen, Lori McKenna)
- Somewhere Between The Secret and The Truth (Wade Bowen, Lori McKenna)
