Margo Price – “Stone Me”

It’s been more than two years since the sharp, incisive old-school country badass Margo Price came out with All American Made, her last album. In that time, she’s hit some serious career landmarks. She’s been nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy, invited tourmate Chris Stapleton and former label boss Jack White onto her stage in Nashville, and played an all-star Loretta Lynn tribute, among many other things. These days, she’s selling out some pretty big venues as a headliner. And today, she’s got a new single out in the world.

“Stone Me,” Price’s new song, is a lovely midtempo song that also works as a statement defiance: “Through the mud and rain you can drag my name/ You can say I’ve spent my life in vain/ But I won’t be ashamed what I am/ For your judgement day I don’t give a damn.” Price co-wrote the song with regular collaborator Jeremy Ivey, who plays 12-string acoustic on the song.

Price’s backing band on the track includes some serious heavyweights: Tom Petty’s former Heartbreaker Benmont Tench on piano, beloved wizard Pino Palladino on bass, old-school soul lifer James Gadson on drums, Chavez frontman and sideman-to-the-stars Matt Sweeney on electric guitar. The song doesn’t come with an album announcement or anything, but Price has notably switched labels, from Third Man to Loma Vista. In a press release, she says, “After what feels like an eternity, I’m releasing a new song into the wild today. It’s been hard to keep everything I’ve been working on for the last year to myself and I’m so excited to share it.” Check out the track below.

Last night, Price played “Stone Me” live for the first time. She did it as a guest on Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal, a show that doesn’t typically have music performances. Check it out below.

“Stone Me” is out now on Loma Vista.