Stephen Wilson Jr.

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Jayce Kartye

A close-up of Stephen Wilson Jr.

Stephen Wilson Jr.

media release: The Indiana-born, Nashville-based rising star Stephen Wilson Jr. announced the Gary The Torch Tour, the follow-up to his wildly successful søn of dad tour that lasted over two years and took him across the globe. The new tour includes a stop at The Sylvee in Madison on April 24, 2026. 

Find a full list of tour dates at stephenwilsonjr.com.

Ahead of the upcoming tour, Wilson Jr. will perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on November 18, leading up to his performances at the 59th Annual CMA Awards on November 19 where he is also nominated for New Artist of the Year. At the ceremony, he will play both solo and with fellow New Artist of the Year nominee Shaboozey for a special performance of “Took A Walk,” their song from the critically-acclaimed 2025 film The Long Walk, based on the novel by Stephen King. He will finish out the month by making his headline debut at the Ryman Auditorium with two sold-out shows on November 23 and 24.

It’s been a busy year for Wilson Jr. who released both a deluxe edition of his widely lauded debut double album søn of dad, which featured his moving rendition of “Stand By Me” that has been streamed tens of millions of times and has been included in a primetime Pampers commercial, as well as his recent Blankets EP, which included covers of songs by Nirvana, Temple of the Dog, The Postal Service and The Smashing Pumpkins. He also performed the National Anthem at this year’s NFL Draft and was named “one of country music’s most electrifying new artists” in Rolling Stone’s Future of Music print issue. 

In between headline shows, Wilson Jr. supported Eric Church during his three-night run at Red Rocks this July, made his Newport Folk Festival debut, and joined HARDY on his Jim Bob World Tour. He will kick off 2026 with a performance at Mile 0 Festival in Key West and will join Church again for a trio of shows in February before performing at Railbird Music Festival and Under The Big Sky Festival next summer. 

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. So far in 2025, Wilson Jr. released a deluxe edition of his debut album that features 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. To close out the year, he earned his first CMA Award nomination for New Artist of the Year and is currently in the midst of a wildly successful 2025 U.S. run of his søn of dad tour following support dates with HARDY this summer.