Aaron Watson May Or May Not Have Started The Recent Trend Of 20+ Song Country Albums: “It Was A Coincidence”

Did Aaron Watson have anything to do with the recent trend of longer, 20-plus-song country music albums?

The Texas country legend stopped by the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast to talk about coming up in the Texas music scene and how that shaped his perspective of country music and the Nashville machine, dealing with record executives, being self-sufficient and taking a unique approach to his career, current country music beefs, how he started his tailgate talks on social media and the success that the videos have had online, playing the American Rodeo alongside Post Malone and what that experience was like and so much more.

As a proud, independent artist, Aaron Watson has always had the mindset that he can make it on his own. He does things how he wants to, and doesn’t ever let a record label tell him what he can or cannot do. Even when record executives told him there was no way he could release a No. 1 album as an independent artist, he proved them wrong.

Watson’s 2015 album The Underdog made history when it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. It was the first ever independently released album to reach the top spot, and it’s just another example of perseverance and hard work paying off for the Texas native.

But once he reached that milestone, Watson didn’t stop. He’s continued to write and release new music, and in a way, be a trendsetter for other country music artists to look towards. There’s even a chance that Watson’s 2019 album Red Bandana, which boasted 20 songs, helped open the door for others like Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan to start releasing projects with 20-plus tracks.

Once again, Aaron Watson was told he couldn’t do something, he did it anyways, and it worked out in his favor:

“I actually think one of my best albums ever is this album called ‘Red Bandana,’ which starts off with a song called ‘The Ghost of Guy Clark.’ We put 20 songs on that album and people were like, ‘You can’t put 20 (songs on an album).’ And I did, and then everybody starts putting out (albums with 20 songs). It was a coincidence.”

That “it was a coincidence” was said with some sarcasm, just in case it didn’t read like that.

Now, Aaron Watson has a 40-track double album titled Horse Named Texas coming out early next year (March 6, 2026 to be exact). He’s been slowly releasing singles from the upcoming project, most recently “Pontiac (So Tell Me Momma),” and they’ll all come together to form the longest album of his career.

How does Watson keep the songs coming, and write enough to fill up a 40-song double album? As the country artists puts it, the act of writing is among the greatest of his life’s joys:

“I love to write. It’s my golf. It’s my hunting. It’s my fishing. It’s my hobby. It’s my favorite thing.”

@whiskeyriff “It was a coincidence.” @Aaron Watson // The latest Whiskey Riff Raff episode is available now on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff #aaronwatson ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff

You can hear more from the “July In Cheyenne” singer by downloading the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or click here.

We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts.

Cheers, y’all.

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