In a genre that has occasionally drifted away from its three chords and the truth mission statement, Joe Nichols has never wavered. “I’m a singer of country songs,” he declares. “That’s what I do.”

 

It’s that steadfast commitment to country music that’s made Joe one of Nashville’s most honest and versatile voices, regarded for his warm and distinctly country tone by everyone from Dolly Parton to Post Malone — he’s sung with both. On his new album Honky Tonks and Country Songs, Joe continues to connect country’s traditional past with its diverse present over 11 radio-ready tracks.

 

His second album for Quartz Hill Records, Honky Tonks and Country Songs is built around the two pillars of the title. “I’ve been in a lot of honky-tonks,” Joe says. “They’re the only places I could play for a long time, and you learn a lot about being an entertainer there, because people come wanting to hear a good song and have a good time. Country songs speak not just to those people, but to all people.”

 

The album’s first offering, “Bottle It Up,” is an easygoing yet irresistible celebration of the country life, with Joe singing about the simple joys of catching fireflies and kissing on a porch swing, wishing he could capture the feeling forever. He describes the song as “front-porch, rocking-chair country.”

 

“I'm a big Don Williams fan and ‘Bottle It Up’ reminds me of something that he would have recorded,” Joe says. “It’s a simple country song that you can jam to on the lake or on your way to work, or hanging out in front of the barbecue on a Sunday. It fits all those categories, and it’s great to play live too.”

 

The ability to connect with fans both on a record and on a stage is a rare gift, but Joe — like fellow dyed-in-the-wool trad-country vocalists George Strait, Parker McCollum, and Cody Johnson —made a career out of making it look easy. Since arriving on the scene as a teenager, he’s had a knack for finding and singing just the right song for the right moment. He did it with Number One hits “The Impossible,” “Gimmie That Girl” and “Brokenheartsville” (the latter of which he and Post Malone recently duetted live in Nashville), with the irreverent chart-topper “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” and with the back-to-back Number Ones “Sunny and 75” and “Yeah.” He does it with cover songs too: His mashup of Hank Williams Jr.’s “A Country Boy Can Survive” and Alice in Chains’ “Rooster” is a fan favorite. It’s this same authentic connection that has earned Nichols over two billion audio streams to-date as well as three GRAMMY nominations, a CMA award, ACM and CMT Music Award trophies plus multiple gold and platinum-certified records.

 

On Honky Tonks and Country Songs, he finds that sweet spot with “People Still Doing That,” a song that speaks directly to listeners who might be feeling old school in a modern age. “There is a forgotten bunch of people that don't like the noise of the world, and they prefer to do simple things, like shooting pool, dancing, or even just being a gentleman,” he says. “I love that there's still a culture like that, where people go about their daily lives and aren’t interested in social media or the hot new spot downtown.”

 

Elsewhere, Joe delivers a heartfelt love song for the ages in “Doin’ Life With You,” a vow to one’s partner that you’ll be by their side through thick and thin — and wouldn’t want it any other way. For Joe, he sings the ballad through the lens of being a father and a husband. “Life can be hard, with its peaks and its valleys, but I love the person I'm doing it with,” he says. “That song will resonate with a lot of people.”

 

Joe also welcomes a pair of guests on two tracks: Runaway June’s Stevie Woodward joins him on “Hard Fires,” while Annie Bosko is his duet partner for the album’s first single, “Better Than You,” a Top 40 hit at U.S. country radio. “Stevie and Annie are both amazing singers, and they bring some cool moments to the album,” Joe says. “I love having their voices on those songs.”

 

“Better Than You” is a smoldering love song, with the narrator painfully aware that he’d never find a lover better than the one he has. “It’s a slow-burner,” Joe says of the song. “There’s an interesting balance on the album, with some songs racing out of the speakers, and others intentionally taking their time to catch fire.”

 

For the album’s centerpiece, Joe and his producers, Mickey Jack Cones and Derek George, selected the perfect anthem. Written by Tyler Hubbard, Matt Jenkins, Travis Wood, and Casey Brown, the title track is a lighthearted love song about all the things that fit perfectly together: dance floors and neon lights, Tennessee and Jack Daniel’s, and “Honky Tonks and Country Songs.”

 

“It’s good to have deep, impactful songs like ‘Doin’ Life With You,’ but it’s also good to have fun songs — and the title track is a fun one,” he says. “That song is a dancer.” In the end, Honky Tonks and Country Songs is an album a lot like Joe himself: The country music is what you’ll notice immediately, but hang around a little and you’ll learn about the artist too. Like how he first had success while only in his 20s, why he’s fascinated by science and UFOs, and all he has yet ahead of him as an influential and current country singer.

 

“My job is to make people feel good. And sometimes that means with fun and happy songs, and other times with sad and sorrowful truths. But the goal is always to make them feel good,” Joe says. “This album is meant to do exactly that. Everyone can find a good time in a honky-tonk and a country song.”