Wyatt Flores Is the Next One.
If country music has its Vatican, it would be the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Which is why I took notice when 22-year old emerging country star, Wyatt Flores made his Grand Ole Opry debut this past Saturday night. Hell, I even bought a ticket. Well, technically my “drunk self” bought two tickets late one night, probably after too many White Claws. The only problem, I live in Minnesota.
Once I had sorted this great-problem-to-have out (it helps to have a pilot brother who can fly for free), I headed down to Nashville to see the young buck from Stillwater, Oklahoma take his first turn preaching at country music’s biggest church. If you’ve never been, the Grand Ole Opry is a religious experience, even seating you in church pews to further connect the dots.
Full disclosure, I love country music. I think it’s the best of all the music genres, mostly for its words and durability. I’ve found that dipping into country music is a bit like dipping into, well, tobacco. It might start with that first Copenhagen after a night of drinking that makes you throw up in someone’s front yard. But just like tobacco, eventually you’ll be addicted to country music because well . . .
. . . I like it when I’m driving
. . . I like it when I’m golfing
. . . I like it when I’m working
. . . I like it when I’m just sitting around doing nothing
And so on and so on. Yes, country music works. And it works in a variety of places. And best I can tell, it won’t give you mouth cancer.
Within the genre of country music there is a specific niche of country music for people who would probably say they don’t like country music. If someone asks you if you like country music, and your initial instinct is to provide them a disclaimer telling them all the types of country music you don’t like, well, you’re probably still going to love Wyatt Flores.
Wyatt Flores does not do pop music with a twang. He isn’t going to put on a straw hat, and dance around the stage like Luke Bryan at your next summer festival. In fact, his next single dropping this week, is about “Milwaukee,” which is a long way from margaritas.
If you like Tyler Childers, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Zach Bryan, and Chris Stapleton—you’re going to love Wyatt Flores. Since they’re both from Oklahoma, in some ways Flores feels like he’s playing a young Snoop Dog to Bryan’s now more seasoned Dr. Dre. Flores the joey in Bryan’s country music kangaroo pouch.
If you like modern outlaw style country, where lyrics and songcraft matter, Wyatt Flores is about to become your new cup of (sweet) tea. If you’re looking for sunshine and breakups and maybe even Carrie Underwood keying an ex’s car, Wyatt Flores isn’t going to be your jam. Flores is cut from the cloth of making extremely well written songs, often sad—that still sound beautiful when you listen to them repeatedly.
Flores emergence is also interesting geographically. If West Texas (Marfa, etc.) had its moment over the past decade, it seems the hard soil of Oklahoma is about to become very top-of-mind for young, hipster, country music fans. Oklahoma has turned out its fair share of country music legends from Garth Brooks to Reba McEntire and Bob Wills. More recently, the pride of Oolohah, OK, Zach Bryan has taken center stage for an entire generation. And with Oklahoma’s Kings of Leon due for a new album in 2024, and University of Oklahoma alum, Baker Mayfield, putting together a nice little playoff performance—it may be time to take that push pin and officially move the center of the country music landscape from West Texas to Oklahoma.
Pulltab Sports doesn’t pretend to have the sharpest pencil when it comes to being a country music critic. We’ll leave that to Grady Smith, who I had the pleasure of bumping into at the Opry this weekend, also visiting the Opry to see the debut of young Wyatt Flores I’d imagine. If you haven’t checked out Grady Smith’s coverage of the country music, do yourself a favor and follow him on @GradySmith on YouTube. For country music newcomers, Grady is the perfect person to bum you that first dip.
We’ll leave the real analysis to Grady, and instead we’re going to keep things simple for you folks. If you love country music, or even if you just like Zach Bryan, here are 5 reasons Wyatt Flores is the next one:
#1 “Something in the Orange” meet “Orange Bottles.”
A good check to see if you’re going to love Wyatt Flores, is if you love Zach Bryan’s song, “Something in the Orange.” More specifically, if you’re familiar with Bryan’s epic visit to Red Rocks last year, playing a singalong in a blizzard and supposedly buying hot chocolate for the entire audience. If “Something in the Orange” is a video that had you stop scrolling at any point last year, well, let us introduce you to “Orange Bottles” by Mr. Wyatt Flores.
While we’re not all emerging country music stars living life on the road, Flores’ poetry on “Orange Bottles” about an over-medicated, quest to find yourself should resonate with millions of young people fighting to figure out who they and his truth should resonate that sometimes “waking up sure feels like falling down.” Give “Orange Bottles” a listen, and it’s clear from the start this kid can write, sing, and play.
#2 “Milwaukee” not Margaritas.
Wyatt Flores does make sad music sound beautiful. When you’re a young person making your Grand Ole Opry debut, the hardest part of the process has to be deciding which of your songs to sing. Flores is still a young man with a limited catalog including no full-length albums, and just one EP. But since the Opry behaves like the radio show it is, a performance there is limited to just a handful of songs. And for a new artist, just a couple. It's telling that Flores chose an unreleased song called “Milwaukee” to play on Saturday night.
“Milwaukee” is an anthem to every Carhart heart that’s ever been broken. A beautiful ode with a chorus that’s bound to put Flores straight into millions of people’s Spotify Wrapped next year. It’s Flores way of saying when it comes to love, don’t hate the player, hate the game. Flores delivers encouragement wrapped in sadness, using his voice as an instrument in what is bound to become his signature style. Choosing “Milwaukee” as one of the two songs he played at the Opry sends the signal that big things are ahead for Wyatt Flores, and he knows it too.
#3 Sing-along Choruses That Will Have You “Losing Sleep.”
Listen to just a few of Flores’ songs and it’s clear if you’re a fan of a full-throated sing-along chorus (see Bryan’s “Revival”), Wyatt Flores has this dialed as well. Looking for proof we should call the women and hide the bibles, look no further than one of Flores’ most streamed tracks, “Losing Sleep.”
We’ll save you the trouble of looking up the lyrics. Lyrics that will be time stamped into your brain after seeing Flores play live. Whether you’re listening to “Losing Sleep” alone on your phone laying in your bed, or lucky enough to catch him live—the chorus of “Losing Sleep” is precisely the sort of song that will be time stamped into the meteoric rise we expect from Wyatt Flores in 2024.
Well I guess you didn't mean it when you said that you loved me
I'm a fool for blaming it on bad timing
Well the truth always seems to appear
But it's the morning light that I fear
How do I forget the things we did, back when we were kids
#4 Never Underestimate the Power of a Cover Song as a Gateway Drug.
While it feels like blasphemy to include a cover song when heralding an up-and-coming singer songwriter, the unique spin Flores provided when recently covering The Fray’s “How to Save a Life” allows us to bend the rules. This cover only gets more powerful when you learn that Flores has had many experiences in his young life watching people close to him struggle with mental health issues.
#5 If There are “Holes” To Wyatt Flores’ Game We Haven’t Found Them Yet.
Flores chose two songs for his Grand Ole Opry debut this weekend. After new track “Milwaukee,” he picked “Holes,” explaining it’s a song with special relevance to him as a songwriter.
“Holes” probably should have been on the soundtrack for the Boys in the Boat movie. Here Wyatt shares the story of trying to make it, but not knowing if you will. He’s “tired of walking with holes in my shoes, acting like I got nothing to lose.” And while he doesn’t know if he’s ever going to leave this place where he’s bumming cigarettes, just like the two dollars he covets, “Holes” sounds like a pot of gold.
So, go ahead and give Wyatt Flores a listen. Because pretty soon you won’t have a choice, because he’ll be everywhere. And deservedly so. Wyatt Flores is the next one.
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