Most of us are nostalgic for the past in some way. Whether it’s the feeling of driving around on a Sunday afternoon or eating cereal while watching cartoons on a Saturday morning, we’ve all got those moments we won’t ever forget. With his new song, Wade Bowen captures those feelings through an intensely personal lens. “Cowboy Kid” packs in the emotive lyrics while delivering a buoyant, glossy melody. To say it’s infectious is an understatement.

Co-written with Casey Beathard, “Cowboy Kid” rolls through the hills, as Bowen remembers riding horses and hearing that dinner bell ring. “I ain’t old, but I’m old enough to know it really wasn’t all that long ago
I could rope, I could ride or rob a train,” he cracks open in the first stanza. “Be back home when the dinner bell rang…”

The wistfulness hangs off his tongue, as he continues reflecting on his youth and how it all led him here to the present. “Now and then I saved the world, rescued and rode off with the girl / It’s finally all adding up,” he sings, with surprising charm. “Oh I am who I am because of that cap gun cowboy kid I was.”

Listen to “Cowboy Kid” below.

In a press statement, he further considered what his past means to him and how the song appropriately bottles up all those deep-chested yearnings. “As a kid, I was a big dreamer and this song is about carrying those dreams into adulthood,” Bowen says. “I feel like most people start to lose sight or give up on them as they get older. I see the same thing happening in my own kids now as they get ready to move into adulthood, and I want them to know it’s ok to have crazy dreams… and I want them to have courage to chase them. They just might come true.”

Next up, Bowen eyes a forthcoming new record, tentatively expected in 2024. But for now, he’s finishing up a tour for the rest of the year. Those dates are below.

October 21 – Rockdale, TX – Rockdale Fair Park & Rodeo Arena

October 26 – Hays, KS – Fox Theatre – Hays, Kansas

October 27 – Manhattan, KS – The Manhattan

November 9 – Bloomington, IL – The Castle Theatre

November 10 – Chicago, IL – Joe’s on Weed Street

November 11 – Indianapolis, IN – 8 Seconds Saloon

December 2 – Bandera, TX – 11th Street Cowboy Bar

December 8 – Webster, TX – Rowdy’s Dance Hall