Stephen Wilson Jr. Salutes the Working Class in New Song ‘Gary’

Earlier this year, Stephen Wilson Jr. previewed his new song “Gary” during a sold-out concert at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl and, soon afterward, talked at length to Rolling Stone about its meaning. The country singer-songwriter who mixes grunge sounds with heartland rock finally dropped the studio version of “Gary” early Wednesday morning.

“I grew up in a body shop. My family, every one of them can fix anything, not because they’re just like these mechanical geniuses, but because they just had to fix everything,” Wilson told RS. “There’s no money to hire somebody to fix something, so you just got to learn how to fix it. And where I come from, the Garys, they get it done. It’s like, ‘Man, you’re gonna need to call Gary.’”

Wilson gave the live debut of “Gary” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night and followed it by releasing the song on streaming services. “Gary” is the first single off his forthcoming album, the follow-up to 2023’s acclaimed Son of Dad LP.

“Time leaves town but the minute hand stays/Ain’t a lot of boys named Gary these days,” Wilson sings, lamenting a present where dirty hands aren’t as appreciated as they once were.

“I grew up in a generation where it’s like you go to college and to hell with trades,” he told Rolling Stone. “But here we are in society that’s running out of Garys. And it’s going to be scary if we ain’t got our Garys. I hope we recognize and start celebrating them instead of forgetting about them.”

Wilson recently announced his Gary the Torch tour, a new string of shows that kicks off March 6 in Columbus, Ohio, and hits major cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York. Ahead of the new tour, Wilson wraps up 2025 with concerts in Las Vegas and a pair of gigs at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville next week.

The Indiana native is also slated to perform at the 2025 CMA Awards on Wednesday night. He’ll do double duty onstage in Nashville, singing his reimagined take on Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me” and partnering up with Shaboozey for their collab “Took a Walk.” Wilson is nominated for New Artist of the Year.