CMT Next Women of Country Julie Williams carries her mixed-race heritage and queerness as proudly as she carries her music. Raised in Florida, Williams has been turning heads in Nashville’s country and Americana music scenes with her compelling mix of storytelling, soft-yet-powerful vocals, and indie folk production. She continues down that creative path with the release of her new track “just friends?” available now. The video for the song will make its world premiere this Monday, Aug. 26 in Times Square via CMT.

The latest from Williams, a blend of both classic country storytelling and queer reflection, is the first taste of new music from her upcoming indie folk project, Tennessee Moon, set for release Oct. 17, 2024. Listen to “just friends?” Below and pre-save Tennessee Moon HERE.

“I was inspired by my friend and fellow Black Opry artist, Denitia and her song ‘Old Friend’ to write this one,” shares Williams. “Hearing her sing it night after night on tour, I began reflecting on some friends that I am not in contact with anymore and questioned why the ending of those friendships felt like breakups.”

Williams continues, “I am now a confidently-out bisexual woman, but at the time of those friendships, I did not know myself fully. Knowing who I am now, the song is a reflection about those relationships and would they have ended differently. I wanted to capture both the sadness of nostalgia and the beautiful confusion of young love that comes with discovering one’s identity.”

Produced by Jonathan Smalt and written by Williams with Melody Walker, the track is a nostalgic queer story about realizing you once had romantic feelings for an old friend that gives the listener the feeling of traveling down a winding road at sunset reflecting on a lost love driven by a dancing pedal steel, banjo, acoustic guitar, and classic country percussion.

For Tennessee Moon Williams was inspired by some of her favorite singer/songwriters like Boy Genius, Kacey Musgraves, Allison Krauss, Emmylou Harris and Taylor Swift to create a story-driven sonic journey that was both dreamy and moody while seamlessly blending country, 90s folk and indie production elements.

“Tennessee Moon was inspired by a picture that I took of one of my exes as they kayaked at Percy Priest lake under a stunning Tennessee sunset,” shares Williams. “I watched this person - and our relationship - float farther and farther away from me, just as the sky was fading from orange and red to blue and gray. With that picture, and with this EP, I wanted to capture that wistful feeling - of trying to hold onto a beautiful, golden moment that you know in your heart is not going to last. This EP is an ode to my mid-20s - all the golden days, the dark nights, the flowers, and the dirt.”

In support of the forthcoming EP, Williams will celebrate with a release show at Nashville’s Blue Room on Nov. 7. Tickets go on sale this Friday, Aug. 23 at 10 am local time. To purchase, visit thisisjuliewilliams.com.

No stranger to performing, Williams has built her career on the road playing over 120 shows in 26 states in the past two years and captivated audiences at festivals such as Newport Folk Festival, CMA Fest, Tortuga Music Fest, High Water Festival, Cayamo, and AmericanaFest. She has also shared the stage with acts across genres, including Jason Isbell, Allison Russell, Mt. Joy, Devon Gilfillian, Brittney Spencer and Will Hoge.

Music has always been a part of Williams’ life - honing her singing talent in church and beach bars and belting national anthems before packed stadiums. She grew up listening to everyone and everything from The Chicks and James Taylor to Gladys Knight and Michael Jackson. Even though she was drawn to the storytelling of country music, she never quite found the sound that spoke to everything she was: Black, white, Southern, a woman, hopeful, truthful. So naturally, it was up to Williams to make this sound. “My music is mixed like me,” is how she describes it, “I want to tell the stories that need to be told.”

The Florida native started sharing those stories, and people listened. A student at Duke University, she was signed to Small Town Records whose alumni include Mike Posner and Delta Rae and sang as a vocalist for the Duke Jazz Ensemble. After graduating with a public policy degree in 2019, she moved to Nashville and found her musical home in the Black country and Americana scene. She was named in Rissi Palmer’s Color Me Country Class of 2021 and she was featured in a “PBS NewsHour” special on Black women in country music. In 2022, Julie joined the Black Opry, a collective of Black artists in country, blues, folk, and Americana music. Julie was named a CMT Equal Access artist in 2023, joining the mTheory backed program to support marginalized voices in country music.

“People want to hear black voices, black stories,” Williams says. “I was nervous about how my songs would be received by Nashville - but people want honesty. They want honest songs about real life, and for the artists they follow to take a stand.”

Tennessee Moon follows her self-titled EP, Julie Williams, with American Songwriter praising her “success through the power of her own voice” and the Tennessean noting she “discovers joy, maturation” on the project.

An activist at heart, Williams launched Green Room Conversations in March 2023, a series of performances and speaking on college campuses to raise awareness of sexual harassment in the music industry and her own experience with sexual violence. Williams hopes to empower the next generation of artists and industry changemakers and has already visited MTSU, University of Texas-Austin, and Duke with more campus visits planned for later this year.

“I’m writing my songs for the girl who cries in the shower as she tries to detangle her hair and is afraid to look in the mirror because she hates what she sees; for the 17-year old who is just now learning to love herself; for the 20-or 30-something who is just trying to figure it out," shares Williams. "That’s who my songs are for.”