Release Date: January 16, 2026 Streaming everywhere
Mean Jolene
A continuation of a story you thought you knew.
What happened after Jolene stole her man?
This isn’t a retelling of Jolene — it’s the woman years later, with one brief memory of the day he left, and the rest of the song rooted in present-day clarity.
I was raised in a house where music wasn’t a hobby, it was a daily ritual. Classic country spun on repeat, and those roots show up in every melody I write.
On September 8, 2025, I headed to the studio to lay down vocals for “Mean Jolene,” my ode (with attitude) to Dolly Parton and Patsy Cline — two queens who shaped the way I tell a story.
OUT NOW January 16, 2026, “Mean Jolene” dropped with a sharp, witty continuation of Dolly’s iconic tale — this time from the woman who walked away wiser, tougher, and frankly relieved she dodged one hell of a disaster.
This track is built with vintage country grit and modern pop-rock bite: Patsy-style warmth, Colter Wall / Stan Jones yodel colouring, and my own unapologetic storytelling. Jolene may have stolen the man, but she also inherited the lies, the chores, and all the karma that comes with picking wrong.
The first time I heard Dolly sing “Jolene,” I was just a kid picturing that flaming-haired beauty who could steal a man with a single glance. But I always wondered… Did she take him? And, what happened after she took him?
Well, here’s my answer.
“Mean Jolene” picks up where Dolly left off — and now Jolene’s stuck with the man she fought for. Dedicated with love (and mischief) to Dolly & Patsy — thank you for the blueprints.
Drums were tracked in Nashville by Lee Kelley, who most recently has been touring with Hank Williams Jr,, just steps from Ole Red’s — which felt perfect, since that’s exactly where Jolene’s trouble begins in my version of the story. Jerry Wong, who is currently touring as IEM engineer with Loverboy, brought the fire on electric guitar, and Winston Hauschild pulled the whole track together, playing keys, bass, and acoustic guitar while producing the song with that mix of retro swagger and modern attitude.
Recorded at TreeHouse Studios on Bowen Island (with that Nashville punch), “Mean Jolene” is a country song with grit and retro heart — for every woman who loved hard, got burned, cried… and then realized she’d dodged a damn bullet.
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