Stephen Wilson Jr. Takes Aim At AI & Technology With Unreleased, Woody Guthrie-Inspired Song, “This Machine”

Another stunner from the scientist-turned-singer.

In a year full of breakouts across both the independent scene and the mainstream alike, ranging from the likes of Ella Langley and Zach Top to The Red Clay Strays and Treaty Oak Revival, Stephen Wilson Jr. has undoubtedly been one of the standouts throughout 2025.

Of course, fans of the independent scene have been quite familiar with him over the past few years. After delivering his stellar debut on his bon aqua EP, featuring the likes of “American Gothic” and “Year to Be Young 1994,” in June of 2023, Wilson Jr. made himself known in a big way just six months later with his mammoth, 22-track debut album, Søn of Dad.

Simply put, the album was nothing short of a stunner, mixing elements of country, grunge, gothic folk, rock and more. It seems a bit lazy to describe an album as one that truly doesn’t sound like anything out there today, but Søn of Dad is just that. Bringing out elements of all the aforementioned genres and subgenres, the Indiana native delivered something truly unique, packing the album full of incredible tracks such as “I’m A Song,” “Grief is Only Love,” “Billy,” the title track and more.

Recently, he put the entire public on notice of his talent when he was not only nominated for New Artist of the Year at the 59th CMA Awards but also took to the stage to deliver his stunning reimagining of Ben E. King’s 1961 classic, “Stand By Me.” Along with The Red Clay Strays, who also had a big night and introduced themselves to a wider audience with a killer performance of their current single, “People Hatin’,” it seemed like the “Cuckoo” singer had his “moment” at the CMAs.

Just last week, he followed his big CMA night with an incredible appearance on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast. In addition to delivering a haunting performance of “Grief Is Only Love” and his latest single, “Gary,” Wilson Jr. would also shock the world by revealing that he was the one who invented Dentastix, the popular dental treat for dogs, which is used by pet owners worldwide.

Today, however, we’re throwing it back to March of this year when he debuted a brand new, unreleased song titled, “This Machine”

If you have any understanding of music history (especially folk history), a song with the title, “This Machine,” probably already clued you in to the fact it was inspired by the legendary Woody Guthrie. If you’re not familiar with him, he’s undoubtedly one of the founding fathers of modern folk music and retroactively became one of the most important artists in the genre’s history. Beyond being one of the most important social and civil rights activists in music at the time, penning the iconic track, “This Land Is Your Land,” he was also a mentor and influence on the great Bob Dylan, along with countless other folk singer/songwriters of yesterday and today.

Of course, other than “This Land Is Your Land,” Guthrie is best known for his signature guitar that had “This machine kills fascists” inscribed on the body using black ink. A nod to his anti-fascist nature, the phrase has now become synonymous with both Guthrie and a plethora of non-violent, anti-authoritarian movements since his passing in 1967.

As for Wilson Jr.’s unreleased track, it’s undeniably the “I’m A Song” singer at his most period-specific in his writing. Backed by his signature grunge-inspired acoustic guitar work, he bemoans the rise of technology not only as a means of control but also its effects in the music industry. It’s no doubt that the rise of AI in the music industry has been a cause of concern to many over the past year, highlighted primarily by an AI “artist” securing the #1 spot on Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales chart back in November. Since then dozens of artists similar have began popping up on Spotify creating what can only be described as “AI slop.”

Though this was performed back in March (and surely written well before that), it’s still an incredibly relevant reflection on the path we’re heading down with the continued infiltration of AI both in art and at large.

Here, the Indiana native ponders taking a sledgehammer to a keyboard before making the poignant point of never seeing a laptop debut at the Opry.

“This machine kills fascists
Out here drinking down to smashes
Sledgehammer to a keyboard
I’ll be crying to a C chord
This machine kills fascists

I’ve never seen a laptop debut at the Grand Ole Opry
A hard drive in the hall of fame sounds far-fetched to me
A microwave does fine in jail, but Johnny Cash sure didn’t
Kicked and screamed, hell no one seems to want to go to prison any more

Troubadours out there that bleed
Blood on strings and sweat-out songs
From doing too much speed
We can slow down
We can slow down”

It’s safe to say that Wilson Jr. was well-ahead of his time when he performed this back in March, and, unfortunately, the song is quickly becoming a parallel to our reality. As of now, “This Machine” has no release date.

Watch here:

@showmelivemusic83 “This Machine” by @Stephen Wilson Jr. New song alert! #stephenwilsonjr #music #livemusic #newsong #country ♬ original sound – Show-Me Live Music

Stephen Wilson Jr. Tour Dates

January 27-1/31 – Key West, FL – Mile 0 Festival *
February 17 –  Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
February 26 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center ^
February 27 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena ^
February 28 – Austin, TX – Moody Center ^
March 6 – Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live! #
March 7 – Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe #
March 10 – Cleveland, OH – The Agora #
March 11 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore #
March 14 – Toronto, ON – HISTORY #
March 18 – Boston, MA – Citizens House of Blues #
March 21 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount #
March 22 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre #
March 25 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore #
March 28 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore #
April 11 – Bossier City, LA – The Paradise Theater at Margaritaville Bossier City #
April 15 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant #
April 17 – Kansas City, MO – The Midland Theatre #
April 18 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom #
April 22 – Omaha, NE – Steelhouse Omaha #
April 22 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee #
April 25 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed #
June 6 – Lexington, KY – Railbird Music Festival *
July 18 – Whitefish, MT – Under the Big Sky Festival *

* – Festival
# – Gary The Torch tour
^ – Supporting Eric ChurchThe post Stephen Wilson Jr. Takes Aim At AI & Technology With Unreleased, Woody Guthrie-Inspired Song, “This Machine” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.