March 16, 2026

STEPHEN WILSON JR. RELEASES OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR “GARY” STARRING GARY SINISE

ENTIRELY SOLD-OUT GARY THE TORCH TOUR NOW UNDERWAY,

SECOND LEG ANNOUNCES TOMORROW AT 10:00 A.M. ET

NASHVILLE, TENN. – Today, the Indiana-born, Nashville-based rising star Stephen Wilson Jr. released the official video for his latest single “Gary,” directed by Tim Cofield, starring the award-winning actor Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump, Apollo 13). The video arrives today on the anniversary of the passing of a teenager named Gary who helped inspire Wilson Jr. to write the song when he came across a roadside memorial in his name.

Alongside the video, Wilson Jr. has shared a taxonomic analysis of “Gary”:

“(Garis mechanicus)

Kingdom: Animalia – Phylum: Chordata…

– a dying breed, endangered species of fixer. dwelling naturally in a habitat of grease, oil & stereo static. drawn to the roar of 8 cylinders firing in perfect unison or the sound of restricted PVC stably flowing once again. a fixer by nature – born into a broken world. may he run once again.”

Gary Sinise adds, “I heard Stephen’s song and loved it. Two weeks later he reached out to me to be in the video. He’s got a great team, a great song and it was a blast to work with them all on the video. And you know…there ain’t a lotta boys named Gary these days.”

In November, Wilson Jr. followed up his critically-acclaimed debut double album søn of dad with the release of “Gary,” which he premiered with an electrifying performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He closed out 2025 with a performance of the song at the end of his appearance onThis Past Weekend with Theo Von, and in February performed it during his interview on The Howard Stern Show.

“Gary” was praised by Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, and Billboard who proclaimed it “reinforce[s] his reputation as a superb musical craftsman.” The song marks Wilson Jr.’s first single at County Radio and is currently at #40 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.

On March 6, Wilson Jr. kicked off his entirely sold-out Gary The Torch Tour, which will make upcoming stops in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Denver, Chicago and more. He also announced he will support Dave Matthews Band on September 4 at the Gorge Amphitheater and Brandi Carlile on September 11-13 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Tomorrow, Monday, March 16, he will announce the second leg of the Gary The Torch Tour at 10:00 am ET.

Late last year, Wilson Jr. was nominated for his first-ever CMA Award for New Artist of the Year and made his performance debut on the broadcast with a moving rendition of “Stand By Me” and a duet with Shaboozey for their song “Took A Walk.” Additionally, Variety published an extensive feature with him ahead of CMA Awards week and the release of “Gary,” Fresh Air’s rock critic Ken Tucker reviewed søn of dad on NPR, and SPINhighlighted Wilson Jr. in his first digital cover story, proclaiming, “He devises a gothic tableau of the Midwest, a fitting backdrop for his stories of loss, confusion, and perseverance. [søn of dad is] one of the darkest country records of the 2020s, but also one of the wiliest and one of the weirdest.”

2026 Tour Dates

3/18: Boston, MA – Citizens House of Blues # SOLD OUT

3/21: Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount # SOLD OUT

3/22: Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre # SOLD OUT

3/25: Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore # SOLD OUT

3/28: Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore # SOLD OUT

4/11: Bossier City, LA – The Paradise Theater at Margaritaville Bossier City # SOLD OUT

4/15: St. Louis, MO – The Pageant # SOLD OUT

4/17: Kansas City, MO – The Midland Theatre # SOLD OUT

4/18: Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom # SOLD OUT

4/22: Omaha, NE – Steelhouse Omaha # SOLD OUT

4/24: Madison, WI – The Sylvee # SOLD OUT

4/25: Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed # SOLD OUT

6/6: Lexington, KY – Railbird Music Festival *

6/30: Dublin, IE – Summer Series

7/9-12: Winnipeg, MB – Winnipeg Folk Festival *

7/18: Whitefish, MT – Under the Big Sky Festival *

7/23: Check, VA – FloydFest *

9/4: George, WA – Gorge Amphitheater ^

9/11-13: Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre %

11/20-22: St. Petersburg, FL – St. Pete Country Fest *

* – Festival

# – Gary The Torch Tour

^ – supporting Dave Matthews Band

% – supporting Brandi Carlile

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ABOUT STEPHEN WILSON JR.
Stephen Wilson Jr.’s journey from the hollers of southern Indiana to Nashville, Tenn. has been a winding road that’s taken many detours: He’s been an Indiana State Golden Gloves boxing championship finalist, a scientist, and a lead guitarist and songwriter in an indie rock band. In 2016, he ditched his laboratory 9-to-5 and signed a publishing deal with BMG Nashville where his alchemic songcraft immediately made waves, leading to cuts from Caitlyn Smith, Old Dominion, Tim McGraw, Sixpence None the Richer, Leigh Nash and more. 2023 proved to be Wilson Jr.’s breakthrough year, signing with Big Loud Records and releasing his debut double album søn of dad: a triumphant, genre-spanning set of 22 songs dedicated to his late father and given to the world on the five-year anniversary of his passing. The album was named the No. 1 album of 2023 by Holler who called it “a record for the ages,” and earned a spot as one of the best albums of the year from Whiskey Riff, Wide Open Country and Rolling Stone. In 2024, he made his network television debut on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers, followed by performances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s #LateShowMeMusic series and Later…with Jools Holland. Ahead of the one-year anniversary of søn of dad, Wilson Jr. was also profiled in an extensive feature for CBS Saturday Morning. In 2025, Wilson Jr. released a deluxe edition of his debut album that featured a moving interpretation of “Stand By Me” that has been streamed tens of millions of times, and in April, he performed the national anthem live during the nationally televised broadcast of the 2025 NFL Draft. He also co-wrote and collaborated with Shaboozey on “Took A Walk,” which was featured in the critically-acclaimed film The Long Walk based on Stephen King’s novel. Last November, he earned his first CMA Award nomination for New Artist of the Year and played twice on the broadcast – a moving performance of his collaboration with Shaboozey and a star-making rendition of “Stand By Me.” To close out the year, he released new single “Gary,” which he debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and is already spinning on country radio and added on SXM The Highway. He is currently in the midst of his entirely sold-out Gary The Torch tour following a run of dates supporting Eric Church in February.