Exclusive Premiere: Randy Rogers Band And Parker McCollum Bring Their Texas Bond To Life In ‘Is This Thing Workin’’ Music Video

Parker McCollum and Randy Rogers Band’s first-ever collaboration, “Is This Thing Workin’” started as a jam session and has now come to life in a music video that captures the laid-back feel of a true Texas friendship.

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Dustin Haney, the video was shot in New Braunfels, Texas and set inside the Barbarossa Trough, a beloved local bar with deep Texas roots that has been the site of plenty of music videos in the past, according to Rogers.

“I own a rooftop bar in New Braunfels called the Lost & Found. My partners and that business venture also owned this place…It’s called the Barbarossa Trough. I wish I knew the history, but it’s been around a long time. In fact, they’re around so long that they picked it up and moved it a couple times cause people love it so much,” he explained.

The video opens with Randy Rogers pulling up to the middle-of-nowhere bar in his rustic pickup truck. He makes his way inside, takes a seat in front of the mic and begins performing the song to anyone who would listen inside the practically empty bar. The customers sitting at the long wooden bar top take a glance in Rogers’ direction before returning to their conversations, thus echoing the early days of playing for whoever would listen.

After a series of clips that find him taking turns plucking his guitar inside, on the porch or taking a break with a cigarette at the bar, Parker McCollum finally makes his entrance. His tall shadowy figure suddenly appears in the doorway with the sun illuminating the dusty atmosphere.

He quickly picks up his own guitar and joins Rogers in finishing out the remainder of the brand-new release that plays like a late-night, whiskey-fueled confession.

Their vocals come together to explore the emotional chaos driven from the perspective of someone who’s had one too many drinks and now finds themselves wrestling with heartache and questioning if anyone’s truly listening.

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The pair of Texas natives exchange harmonies and warm glances amid the stripped-back visuals that lean into the real-life friendship between Randy and Parker.

“It was just a simple idea, very simple video of just showcasing Parker and I and our relationship,” Rogers told us. “And I think it’s funny because there’s nobody at all in the bar besides a few people who are annoyed that we’re there. Kind of reminds me of the good old days.”

Having Fun Behind The Scenes

When they weren’t busy shooting in front of the camera, Randy Rogers says he and the “What Kinda Man” just enjoyed the opportunity to hangout and catch up on each other’s lives.

“Once again, we don’t see each other very often, so we were both there for several hours and he was shooting some B roll stuff too…I mean, it’s like we’re always working. We were shooting B roll behind the scenes and getting some content for the promotion of it all, and we were cutting up and having a good time. So it was very much a workday, but it was also a pretty relaxed day because the set wasn’t too big, and there weren’t a whole lot of people around. And so it was nice to have a reason to hang out for several hours.”

Bringing The Collab To The Stage

“Is This Thing Workin’” was penned by both country acts alongside Monty Criswell. It came together in the same week that they also wrote McCollum’s “Killin’ Me,” and a few other tracks. As Rogers pointed out, the newest release offers an upbeat tempo that makes it a great addition to any live set.

“It’s a great song to start a set with, if you would think about that, building a set list around it. Like, ‘Hey, is this thing working? Is this thing on?’ And then it kicks in with the tempo.”

While they haven’t brought it to life on stage together yet, he claims that opportunity will arise soon. This drop happened to come at a great time because the legendary Texas group is currently on the road with Parker McCollum in support of his 2025 headlining tour.

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Parker McCollum And The Legendary Texas Band Go Way Back

Opening for McCollum brings things full circle, as their friendship began about 10 years ago when McCollum was just starting out and would open shows for Randy Rogers Band. Randy not only managed Parker early on but also served as a mentor, and the two have remained close collaborators ever since.

“I took him under my wing then with my management company, and we started working together…We started and just got it. We got the fire so big that Nashville and record labels and publishing companies and whatnot had to pay attention. And also we got it so big that Parker kind of was in control of his own destiny, so it worked out.”

Looking back on those early days, Rogers says he knew McCollum was destined to take his career far because of how hungry he was and how eager he was to learn about the business.

“He wanted it really, really bad. He was in it for the right reasons. It wasn’t all about a party. He wanted to be a better songwriter,” Rogers explained. “I love his voice. I love the way he carried himself, the fact that he’s a gentleman. He was raised to respect ladies or respect your elders, respect who you’re working for, and I taught him just my whole mantra is just be excellent and be done. Don’t stick around too long. Don’t out-stay your welcome. We started doing that. It was just kind of rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat.”

Finding Different Opportunities To Work Together

In addition to sharing harmonies on the band’s new release, “Is This Thing Workin’,” Rogers also acted as a co-writer on several tracks that appear on McCollum’s latest self-titled album which came out on June 27th. Plus, they collaborated as co-writers on their latest single, “Break Itself.” “Is This Thing Workin’” marks the second new track release from Randy Rogers Band with more new music on the way later this year.

Seeing Parker McCollum continue to work so hard and tirelessly throughout his career, has inspired Randy Rogers to do the same. He went on to express true gratitude towards the growing country act for including him in those writing sessions which have resulted in either Parker or Randy cutting about “30 to 40%” of the songs that were penned together.

“I’m thankful that Parker invited me in on some of those writes. We didn’t do a whole lot of writing together when he was younger. It was just kind of strictly business. I was helping him kind of navigate the waters and some of these hard decisions. And so I think that I’m very thankful for him to include me in on some of these songs and some of these writes. And they’ve all turned out great.”

Rogers added, “I’m just really proud of him and really proud of this project together. And like you said, I hope many more. He got me on stage last weekend to do ‘Killin’ Me,’ and so I felt cool up there. A lot of youngsters out there looking at me.”

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Randy Rogers Band is next set to join Parker McCollum on his tour stop at The Wharf Amphitheater in Orange Beach, AL on July 26. They will also come together to help raise money for the communities affected by the catastrophic flooding across Texas with a star-studded benefit concert dubbed, Band Together Texas.

The event is set to take place on Sunday, August 17 at Moody Center in Austin, TX with proceeds benefitting The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country.