Drinking Texas may be new to the KOKE Family, but as an independent force of nature (which we have been described as by … someone … probably), we’ve had our ears on the pulse of Texas Country Music for years. We’ve been out there in the trenches – and by trenches we mean dance halls, dive bars, honky tonks, and the occasional festival – listening and learning … and drinking … all in an effort to sharpen our country music acuity. In fact, Chip and Mike release an annual Top 30 Songs of the Year on Drinking Texas’ own internet radio station at the end of every December. So, when the powers that be at our new home at Drinking Texas Nights asked if we would feel comfortable putting together a Top Songs of 2025 list, we only had two questions for them: Would we have to limit it to a Top 5? “No,” they said. May we begin referring to ourselves as The Drinking Texas Knights? Again, “No,” they said. Of course, we couldn’t refuse an offer like that. So here are the Top Songs of 2025, according to Drinking Texas (Knights to be renegotiated at a future date):
9. Somewhere Over Laredo – Lainey Wilson
At the risk of damaging our street cred, we’re going with Lainey Wilson at #9. Lainey first showed up on our radar in 2018 (the year Drinking Texas was founded). Back then, she was goofy and funny with an accent so thick Alexa couldn’t figure out what she was saying. Neither could we, but there was a warmth and sincerity in her voice that made everything she sang (or said) sound good. This year’s CMA Entertainer of the Year is much more fit, polished, eloquent, coiffed and coutured than the Lainey we fell in love with, but her music still resonates. This song is longing without being sad, reminiscent without regret, and has a hook than anyone from Boomers through Millennials can instantly identify with. Bonus points for mentioning Mike’s former hometown in the title.
8. I Had a Headache Once – Hayden Baker
“I’ve got a stupid one you’ve got to hear.” That’s how Hayden Baker introduced this song the first time he played it for us. What he meant was that it wasn’t a banger, or a soulful lament. It wasn’t a waltz or a two-step. It’s that rare piece of good ol’ country hokum, a song that sounds serious until the chorus reveals its playful intent. Hokum was born in the blues back in the 1920s consisting of funny songs with vaguely dirty lyrics. When country adopted the style in the 1960s, it was more about looking at normal relationships in an unserious way, like Roy Clark’s “Thank God (and Greyhound You’re Gone),” Conway and Loretta’s “You’re the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly,” and, more recently, Brad Paisley’s “I’m Gonna Miss Her.” This song may one day take its place among those legends. It’s funny, almost silly, but maintains the kind of quality we’ve come to expect from Baker. I don’t know that it’s the best cut on Hayden’s “Alive & Well” album, but it’s our favorite.
7. Drinking Texas – Silverada
Picture it: October 25, 2024. It was a Friday afternoon and we were wandering around the Williamson Country Fair and Rodeo grounds in Taylor. Mike Harmeier, the lead singer and songwriter for Silverada, looked at Chip’s t-shirt and said “Drinking Texas? I just wrote a song about that.” It wasn’t the weirdest thing Chip was told that day, but it stuck with us. Fast-forward to September and we finally heard this song on XM Radio (of all places). We weren’t disappointed. In fact, we immediately streamed it a half-dozen times and decided to use a snippet of it as our podcast intro theme, just like the Gypsy woman foretold (actually, like Chip told Harmeier we would back on that fateful October day). Silverada does clever, wordy story songs like no one else. The pace is frenetic, the mood serious, the phrasing fun and familiar, then the song ends leaving you thinking “What did I just hear?” and wanting to listen to it again. The fact that this song’s lyric speaks directly to us is just a bonus.
6. I Never Lie – Zach Top
This song came out in April 2024, but it was the main reason the Zack Top hype train came roaring into 2025 as it hit #1 in May of this year. These days the CMA Newcomer of the Year is everywhere. We sort of stumbled upon him as the new kid doing the old style country covers on YouTube. This original feels classic, done in the sarcastic breakup ballad style where the singer ends up being an unreliable narrator who the listener trusts to tell the story until it’s revealed that whatever the narrator is telling you is fasle, a la George Jones’ “She Thinks I Still Care,” George Strait’s “Ocean Front Property,” or Midland’s “Drinking Problem.” It works on so many levels. It sounds like a hit song circa 1993. It’s both new and familiar, original and instantly recognizable. Plus, it’s clever, well done, and just plain fun to sing. Listen to the Grand Ol’ Opry crowd sing along with Zach in the live YouTube video and try not to smile.
5. Live Free (See Me Running) – Shane Smith and the Saints
Sometimes it takes a while for a song to announce its presence with authority. The melody for this one had been living in Shane Smith’s head since at least 2010, about the time he first moved to Austin to pursue music as more than a hobby. The song, about living your best life outside of the typical daily rat race, finally saw the light of day (of night, actually) when it was performed live for the first time at their Red Rocks concert in May, one week after being released to streaming. Since then, it’s become a staple of their live shows, an epic music video, and the official brand anthem for Turtlebox Audio speakers. It hits you in a way that only Shane and his Saints can, with a sweeping, almost orchestral sound that blends characteristics of Southern rock, Celtic folk, and gritty Americana with powerful fiddle work by Bennett Brown and the rich four-part harmonies that the band is famous for. It only takes one listen to make you start harmonizing with the guys every time the song comes on the radio.
4. I’ll Come Running – Memphis Kee
Good things come to those who wait. Great things take a bit longer. When Memphis Kee released their album “Wimberly” in 2022, we were impressed. So, when their follow-up, “Dark Skies,” drops in early 2026, we are expecting big things. If this first single from that upcoming album is any indication, then we are truly excited. The band refers to its music as “Shred Dirt,” and that may be the best way to describe it. It’s more than country or Southern rock and I don’t think the Americana label does it justice. It’s a full-power band sound that starts strong and finishes even stronger. Memphis’ smoky and poised vocals (think Jeff Bridges doing a Jack Daniels spot) provide an emotional center for the raucous musical storm around it. Thumping bass, crashing drums, and soaring harmonica build the tension even as Spencer Carlson’s screaming guitar punctures it. The sound is unexpected – meaning it doesn’t really lend itself to comparisons. It sounds like Memphis Kee, only more so. And Carlson is rapidly becoming the guitarist to watch in Texas.
3. I’m the Problem – Morgan Wallen
It would be disingenuous to make a list like this and NOT include Morgan Wallen. Sure, he wasn’t the CMA Entertainer of the Year (insert controversy here), but that’s about the only thing he didn’t win. He was Billboard’s 2025 Artist of the Year – the first male country artist to take that spot since Garth Brooks in 1993. Add to that he had Apple Music’s #1 album worldwide, was CMA’s International Artist, won ACM’s Favorite Country Song, and put 41 songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in a single year. But the greatest review we heard occurred while watching YouTube. Mike’s dad – a country music fan since 1956 – walked into the room and froze, staring at the TV screen. After watching the video, he turned to us and asked “Who was that?” Morgan Wallen, we said. Pop nodded and muttered “He’s pretty good,” as he walked out of the room. There’s really no higher endorsement in music.
2. Texas in Me – Kensie Coppin
At the tender age of less than 33, Kensie Coppin is well into her third career in the music business. She started as a singer who also wrote songs and by age 12 had played the Opry’s main stage; by age 19 she decided to focus on writing songs for other people to sing. Then one day a few years ago, her writing team decided to start working on songs for her to perform. Cut to 2025 and “Texas in Me,” the first song they wrote once Kensie agreed to perform again, was named the TCMA Single of the Year for 2025. It’s a high energy anthem that pays homage to her Texas roots and identity. “When the team asked me what I wanted to sing about, I made a list of the things that were important to me,” Kensie told Drinking Texas in a recent interview. “As we looked at the list, the guys were teasing me about what was on it and I told them, ‘Well, it’s just the Texas in me.’” The rest was easy after that. Written in standard 4/4 time, it features a fast tempo and strong 2/4 backbeat, typical of a rocking country anthem. What sets this one apart is Kensie’s voice, a rich alto delivered with power and energy. It’s a deeply personal song delivered in a booming, confident style. And wherever the lyric goes, Kensie’s strong vocal handles it with ease. Bonus points for the video that Kensie and her friend put together themselves.
1. I Still Drink About You – Mark Berry Band
The Mark Berry Band has been together for a relatively short time but has already developed a reputation in Texas as a fun, high-energy, boot-scootin’ country dance band with the sensibilities of a 1990s rock n’ roll group. If they are on stage, trust us, you are in for a good time. Hell, their bass (and saxophone) player is named Smiley, for Pete’s sake. We are quite familiar with Mark’s catalog, which made this song such a revelation. Not that they released a sad song – songs of lost love, emotional regret, and drinking to forget are the very foundation of country music – so we were ready for that. What we weren’t prepared for was the emotional gut-punch the guys deliver. It starts slow, as these kind of songs usually do, and the subdued vocal and ethereal fiddle let you know that this is a lament. But it doesn’t wallow in sadness, rather it embraces it, builds upon it, and by the time the rest of the band joins in, it has your full attention. The harmonies are tight, giving us a feeling of togetherness while the instruments take off on their own paths, competing for attention in sharp contrast to the vocal. There’s a bit of the classic gospel tradition of call and response where a haunting voice repeats the vocal as the song crescendos and Mark’s voice reaches a depth of passion and pain that is perhaps the song’s biggest revelation. As I hand this review to Chip to see if I need to add anything, he looks at it, shrugs, and says “Christ, Mike. I just thought it was a great song.” He’s correct, of course…
That’s it. That’s the list. That’s what Drinking Texas thinks. And we realize that there are probably a few songs we’ve mentioned here that you might not have heard yet. But unlike hipsters who get a thrill out of liking music most people don’t listen to, we WANT you to seek these out, give them your seal of approval, and add them to your playlists. There’s room for everyone here at the cool kids table. Except you, Steve. You know what you did …
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