Building off the success of his highly successful January release, “McArthur,” Hardy is back with another storytelling-driven new track.
The Mississippi singer-songwriter took the stage last night at the Ryman for the Listening Room’s 20th Anniversary Event. Celebrating one of Nashville’s most beloved venues, Hardy joined fellow artists such as Mitchell Tenpenny, Jo Dee Messina, and Rob Williford for a stripped-down experience to share a few songs.
During his portion of the event, the “Truck Bed” singer took the time to debut his newest song, “Tommy Made The News.” Before debuting the unreleased track, Hardy told the audience, “I’m extremely nervous. If I had known there was a teleprompter, I might’ve sent you the lyrics.”
Returning to his darker roots, this heavy song follows a young school-aged boy who becomes the focus of a school shooting, landing him a spot as the top headline on the news. Once again straying from his bro-country beginnings to embrace deeper, narrative-driven songwriting, Hardy continues to use themes of death as a powerful shock factor in his music. He has previously noted in the past that mortality has become one of the biggest focuses in his music, given its universal relevance to listeners.
Back in 2025 on Katie Neal’s radio show, Katie & Company, the 35-year-old explained, “People were just like, ‘Man, you got a lot of songs about dying.’” He then emphasized, “But the only thing we have in common is death, and if that’s a theme that I wanna write about just to bring people together and make sure everybody you know in the room relates to one thing, then so be it.”
Given the continued prevalence of mass shootings in the news, this song will definitely be a hard hitter for those affected by school violence. It also beckons a potential new wave of music in 2026 for the 16-number-one-singles artist.
In the meantime, with only five months passed since the release of his most recent September release, COUNTRY! COUNTRY! COUNTRY! Hardy will most likely continue to ride out the wave of this era as he also continues on the album’s subsequent tour. The 39-stop run spanning North America, which began on February 5 in Ontario, will continue until later this August, wrapping up on the 21st in New Braunfels, Texas. Joining him on the road over these next few months are incredible acts like Tucker Wetmore, Mitchell Tenpenny, Muscadine Bloodline, Cameron Whitcomb, Jake Worthington, and McCoy Moore
Tour Dates:
- March 19 – Green Bay, WI. – Resch Center*
- March 20 – Moline, IL – Vibrant Arena at The MARK*
- March 21 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center*
- March 26 – Allentown, PA – PPL Center*
- March 27 – Charleston, WV – Charleston Coliseum*
- March 28 – Evansville, IN – Ford Center*
- April 9 – Knoxville, TN – Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center^
- April 10 – Tupelo, MS – Cadence Bank Arena^
- April 17 – Durant, OK – Choctaw Grand Theatre+ **
- April 18 – Durant, OK – Choctaw Grand Theatre+ **
- April 23 – Jacksonville, FL – VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena^
- April 24 – Charleston, SC – Credit One Stadium^
- April 25 – Orlando, FL – Kia Center^
- May 21 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center #
- May 22 – Huntsville, AL – Orion Amphitheater #
- May 23 – Orange Beach, AL – The Wharf Amphitheater #
- May 28 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center #
- May 29 – Buffalo, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheatre #
- May 30 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts #
- June 4 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP*
- June 5 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater *
- June 6 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center*
- June 11 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion #
- June 12 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach #
- June 13 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek #
- June 25 – Gilford, NH – BankNH Pavilion~
- June 26 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center~
- June 27 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion~
- August 20 – Lubbock, TX – Cooks Garage % **
- August 21 – New Braunfels, TX – Whitewater Amphitheater + **
* Cameron Whitcomb, McCoy Moore
^ Mitchell Tenpenny, McCoy Moore
+ McCoy Moore
# Tucker Wetmore, McCoy Moore
~ Muscadine Bloodline, McCoy Moore
% Jake Worthington, McCoy Moore
** indicates non-Live Nation date