Tucker Wetmore Reveals Why He Chose to Drop a Summertime Mixtape Over an Album in 2026

Tucker Wetmore reveals he was originally planning to release a full-length album this year, but as his career continued gaining momentum and life became increasingly busy, he realized he wasn’t in the right headspace to create the project he wanted.

Instead of rushing the process with a new album, the rising star decided to shift gears and give fans something that felt more natural for the moment: a summertime mixtape. By dropping his six-song Sunburn Mixtape, Wetmore was able to still deliver a collection of songs while previewing the sound he hopes to explore more in his next chapter.

“Honestly, I was working towards an album this year for a long time and this year’s just been crazy. There’s been so many things going on that I just wasn’t in the head space for an album,” he told Country Now and other outlets. “I knew I wanted to give the fans body music, but I still wanted to be proud of it and feel like I really did everything that I could for it. And I got to be able to accomplish that with this record.”

“I love the beach. I love sunshine. So it was a no-brainer for me. I was like, ‘Alright, we got a handful of songs that are already ready for the album.’ And I kind of just picked and chose a couple of the songs that made sense lyrically leading into this new world that I’m trying to build and also sonically kind of break the ice into the world that I’m trying to create.”

This mixtape arrived July 31 via Back Blocks Music/MCA/Mercury Records and includes three previously released fan favorites along with three brand new tracks. Fans can soak up the sunny, carefree days while letting songs like Wetmore’s Country radio single “Who Told You That,” “Sunburn,” “Proving Me Right” and more serve as the soundtrack.

He goes on to say that the ultimate goal when selecting songs for this mixtape was to create something “fun” and “lighthearted.”

“They’re all just fun songs. I feel like music is supposed to be fun, lighthearted. And I feel like we really hit the nail on the head with, or I tried to at least with this small little mix tape. It was fun,” he explained.

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Fans were already familiar with and loving the three previously released tracks, but the mixtape also gave them three brand-new songs to discover: “Crazy To Yourself,” “98%” and “YOURS.”

While celebrating his latest No. 1 hit, “Brunette,” with a room full of members of the country music industry, Wetmore opened up about some of his newer tracks and the inspiration behind them.

Starting with “98%”, Wetmore shared that this story just “flew out” during a writer’s retreat in Arizona with Chris LaCorte, Rodney Clawson and Jacob Hackworth.  

“The play on words was ‘good girls are never always good.’ And so I was like, ‘Well, like 98% good. Showing off the other two tonight.’ And just a fun, kind of just a tongue in cheeky kind of song. But sonically, that’s one of my favorite songs that I’ve created in the recent, just because sonically it’s cool between the guitar tones and the drum sounds. And it’s different. It’s not your traditional country, but it’s still got that country twang in it. But it’s also flirting with the ’70s and the ’80s, kind of Eagles, Bobby Caldwell, all the stuff that I love to listen to, which is kind of the direction I’m trying to go,” he explained.

As for “YOURS,” the hitmaker drew inspiration from something he says many “good old boys” can relate to, which is not always knowing how to put their emotions into words. Rather than writing a traditional love song, Wetmore found a way to express those feelings through the familiar imagery and relatable experiences.

“It was like ‘campfire cracking with the crickets and the frogs, moonlight shining on a Yeti and a dog.’ Just stuff that we know from small town type living, put it, and then related to a woman.”

All six tracks ultimately come together to capture the laid-back, feel-good spirit Wetmore envisioned for the project while also offering a taste of where his sound is headed next.

Sunburn Mixtape Tracklist:

1. “Who Told You That”

       (Jordan Schmidt, Ashley Gorley, Hunter Phelps and Michael Tyler)         

2. “Crazy To Yourself”

       (Jacob Hackworth, Jacob Durrett, Matt Jenkins and Michael Tyler)

3. “98%”

       (Tucker Wetmore, Rodney Clawson, Jacob Hackworth and Chris LaCorte)

4. “YOURS”

       (Tucker Wetmore, Chris LaCorte, Randy Montana, Sasha Sloan and Carver Partin)

5. “Sunburn”

       (Daniel Ross, Ryan Hurd and Jaxson Free)

6. “Proving Me Right”

       (Tucker Wetmore, Jessie Jo Dillon, Luke Laird and Chris Tompkins)

Tucker Wetmore will head back on the road in September to kickstart the second leg of his Brunette World Tour. That same month he’ll also join Brooks & Dunn for select dates, including a special stop at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on September 12.