Koe Wetzel Says His Next Album Is ‘One Hell of a Record’ as He Teases New Sound

Koe Wetzel is setting the bar high for himself in 2026 as he reveals his next batch of songs is slated to be “one hell of a record.”

The country star recently unveiled a first look at the upcoming project through a teaser posted to Instagram alongside a caption that indicates he’s “ready for this new chapter to start.” The footage opens with what can only be assumed a conversation in the studio, where Wetzel can be heard listening back to unreleased tracks. At one point, he makes a remark about an unnamed song noting, “That might be one of my favorites off the record, man.”

The high-energy teaser then races through glimpses of the diverse array of stories and themes that can be expected. Viewers get brief flashes of this through moments of Wetzel smoking cigars, sipping whiskey, speeding down back roads, and showing off the different personas he’ll embody across the album. It’s a preview that promises a record full of energy and the signature Koe Wetzel edge.

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However, in a recent interview with host Lon Helton on Country Countdown USA, the “Damn Near Normal” singer admits the record will also be a bit unexpected with a sound that’s entirely new for him.

“Every artist is going to say that their newest record’s the best one that they’ve ever done,” Wetzel stated. “But for me, this batch of songs and this sound that we’ve kind of come together with, it’s awesome. This whole new sound to me has continued, and it’s, I don’t know, we’re really excited about it.”

Most of Wetzel’s upcoming songs took shape during 2025, a year he dubbed his “rebuild year.” Between serving as a special guest on HARDY’s JIM BOB WORLD TOUR and hitting the studio whenever he wasn’t on the road, Wetzel honed in on one goal, to “cut as much music as possible.”

Even while gearing up for a massive 2026, Wetzel didn’t leave fans completely empty-handed. He released the collaboration “Rocky Mountain Low” with Corey Kent, and celebrated the unexpected success of duet with Jessie Murph, “High Road.” The song became the No. 1 country song of 2025, topped U.S. country radio as the most-played song of the year, and marked Wetzel’s first major country radio No. 1, a milestone that sets the tone for what’s next.

Speaking on his co-write that appears on 2024’s 9 Lives album Wetzel shared, “We knew it was a cool song, and we all really enjoyed it. But for doing what it did, we had no idea it was going to be on that kind of scale,” he admitted. “People kept coming back to it and continue to keep coming back to it, which has been great… it’s just a testament to how strong of a song it was for us. And man, it’s just been great, really.”

No release date has been set yet for the “piles and piles” of new music he’s been storing up, but anticipation is already building as Wetzel hints at a bold new chapter for 2026.

“It’s been a fun year, man,” Wetzel added. “But like I said, it’s been a rebuilding and getting ready for ’26, and we’re really excited for ’26 and can’t wait for everybody to hear all the new music.”