Singer-Songwriter Kaitlin Butts Releases New 'Yeehaw Sessions' EP

Acclaimed Nashville-based singer, songwriter and performer Kaitlin Butts continues a banner year with the release of her highly anticipated new EP, Yeehaw Sessions, available today via Republic Records. The project marks Butts’ first release since signing with the major label, and it captures the Oklahoma native at her most playful, soulful, and self-assured yet. Listen to Yeehaw Sessions HERE. 

Butts gave fans an early taste of the collection late last month with her reflective and emotionally charged rendition of the Jimmy Eat World classic “The Middle,” which has already earned widespread acclaim. Garden & Gun hailed it as “the cover you didn’t know you needed” while Billboard praised it as “Must Hear” and noted, “Butts’ version comes across as tender, wise, and thoughtful” while Saving Country Music added, “Leave it to Kaitlin Butts to take a Jimmy Eat World song and make it into a sentimental and touching country tune.”

“A couple years ago I put out an EP called Sad Yeehaw Sessions, a collection of sad covers that I have always loved and wish I had written myself,” Butts explains. “After releasing Roadrunner! which featured much happier songs, I wanted folks to know that there were brighter days ahead. So we created the antithesis — something upbeat, rowdy, and fun: all cover songs that I’ve been performing live the last couple years.”

Following in the spirit of her beloved 2022 Sad Yeehaw Sessions EP, Yeehaw Sessions flips the script — this time channeling joy, rowdiness and the electric energy of her live show. After road-testing these crowd favorites, Butts recorded them with the energy and spirit fans have come to love. The EP features her takes on “Red Wine Supernova” (Chappell Roan), “Sin Wagon” (The Chicks), “Tulsa Time” (Don Williams) and her viral smash “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead To Me)” — alongside her memorable take on “The Middle.”

To celebrate the release, Butts returns to the legendary Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth at 10 pm to headline a special Yeehaw Night. Limited tickets remain HERE. And watch the new video for “Red Wine Supernova” below. 

Throughout 2025, Butts has captivated audiences across the country on tour with Sierra Ferrell, Lainey Wilson, Molly Tuttle, Wyatt Flores, The Lone Bellow and Flatland Cavalry. She’s also joined Ella Langley and Brothers Osborne on stage and electrified festivals including Lollapalooza, Two Step Inn, C2C and Breakaway Festival. She was also named to Opry NextStage’s “Class of 2025” and CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2025.

For the latest news and tour dates, visit kaitlinbutts.com and follow @kaitlinbutts on Instagram and Facebook and @kaitlinbuttsmusic on TikTok.

ABOUT KAITLIN BUTTS:
Kaitlin Butts' fearless approach to country music is helping her reach new heights. In 2024, Butts released her acclaimed album Roadrunner!. She leaned into her lifelong love of musical theater and dreamed up a modern-day reimagining of the soundtrack to her all-time favorite musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, which ended up on numerous best-of year-end lists. Butts also hit the road hard in 2024, making her Lollapalooza debut as well as opening for Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne and Flatland Cavalry, and trekked across the U.S. on her first-ever coast-to-coast headlining tour.

2025 has been another banner year for the Tulsa-born, Nashville-based artist. In addition to her viral anthem, “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead To Me),” amassing over 157 million TikTok views and 67 million global streams, she joined Lainey Wilson on her Whirlwind Tour and was featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame’s latest American Currents exhibition. Butts also joined the 2025 Opry Next Stage Class as well as the CMT Next Women of Country Class of 2025. Showing no signs of slowing down, she just landed a deal with Republic Records launching her next chapter with the Yeehaw Sessions EP available now. 

Singer/Songwriter Kaitlin Butts Signs to Republic Records; New 'Yeehaw Sessions' EP Coming Nov. 14

Gaining traction as one of country music’s fastest-rising artists, acclaimed Nashville-based singer, songwriter, and performer Kaitlin Butts will unveil her new Yeehaw Sessions EP on November 14, 2025. It notably marks the celebrated rising star's debut under her recently minted deal with Republic Records. Pre-order/Pre-save Yeehaw Sessions EP HERE.
 
"From releasing my album over a year ago as an independent artist, to having a viral song, to now signing a record deal with such a prestigious label like Republic Records, the journey has felt nothing short of surreal,” shares Butts. "I’m so inspired by the Republic team and how their vision aligns with the dreams that I’ve always had for myself.”
 
Kicking off this next chapter in earnest, she just shared a powerfully moving cover of the Jimmy Eat World classic “The Middle” giving fans the first taste of the forthcoming  EP. Listen to “The Middle” Below.
 
The woman declared “unafraid to test boundaries,” by Rolling Stone, spikes this pop-punk staple with serious Oklahoma soul. Stripping back the arrangement back to bare acoustic guitar, slide, fiddle, and dobro, her vocals especially shine as she delivers the instantly recognizable hook with a whole lot of heart. Ultimately, this version of “The Middle” illuminates Butts’ impressive range and uncanny ability to make even the most recognizable track her own with respect and reverence.

"It has been such an incredible year! And in the midst of these great things — viral songs, huge tour opportunities — all that positive attention can bring with it some negative moments too. I was feeling particularly down about myself after some of those negative comments online and starting to wonder if maybe they were right. Then one night at karaoke with friends — because that’s what I, as a professional singer, do to make myself feel better,” Butts shares with tongue firmly planted in cheek, “this girl started singing 'The Middle,' a song that I was very familiar with but reading the lyrics on the screen, it was the first time I was able to take in what the song meant and I started to tear up. I needed to hear those words in that exact moment. It was a reminder to me that I’ve worked my entire life for this dream, and I’ll be damned if I let some keyboard warrior rain on my parade. I hope my version meets someone the way that song met me in that moment."
 
On the music video, she shares: "In Jimmy Eat World’s original music video, a girl shows up to a party, strips her coat at the door and walks into a party where everyone is in their underwear. In this video, I wanted to pay tribute to that and throw my band in the back of a truck like we were on our way to that party,” Butts says. "I called up Chris Beyrooty to direct and we headed to Taylor Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch in Weatherford, TX. With the band dressed in their skivvies, we hit record and captured something hilariously beautiful." 
 
In the spirit of her first covers EP, 2022’s Sad Yeehaw Sessions, the Yeehaw Sessions sees Butts re-record, reimagine, and reinvigorate a handful of personal favorite tunes accompanied by her live band. 
 
“A couple years ago I put out an EP called Sad Yeehaw Sessions, a collection of sad covers that I have always loved and wish I had written myself.” Butts shares. “It fit perfectly with my album at the time, What Else Can She Do, which I had written during a difficult time in my life. After releasing Roadrunner!, which features much happier songs, I wanted folks to know that there were brighter days ahead. In keeping with that theme, we've created the antithesis of Sad Yeehaw Sessions, something upbeat, rowdy and fun….all cover songs that I’ve been performing live the last couple years."  
 
After road-testing these renditions much to the delight of audiences everywhere, she has outfitted the EP with covers of “Red Wine Supernova” by Chappell Roan, “Sin Wagon” by The Chicks,” “Tulsa Time” by Don Williams, as well as “The Middle.” Plus, it boasts a new recording of her viral hit “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead to Me),” infusing it with a rush of energy.

She will celebrate the arrival of Yeehaw Sessions on November 14 with a very special headline show at the largest honky-tonk in the world—Billy Bob's in Fort Worth, TX. Tickets are available HERE.
 
Throughout 2025, she has captivated crowds everywhere on tour with Sierra Ferrell, Lainey Wilson, Molly Tuttle, Wyatt Flores, The Lone Bellow and Flatland Cavalry. Renowned for her stage presence, she’s also played with the likes of Ella Langley and Brothers Osborne in addition to electrifying festivals, including Lollapalooza, Two Step Inn,C2C, and Breakaway Festival. Not to mention, Opry NextStage touted her among its “Class of 2025,” and CMT named her as part of its CMT Next Women of Country Class of 2025.
 
For the latest news and tour dates visit kaitlinbutts.com, and follow along on Instagram, Facebook and @kaitlinbutts and on TikTok @kaitlinbuttsmusic.

Kaitlin Butts Releases Official Music Video for Viral Hit "You Ain't Gotta Die (To Be Dead To Me)"

Rising country/Americana singer/songwriter Kaitlin Butts has released the official music video for her viral anthem, “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead To Me),” a track that has taken on a life of its own across TikTok and streaming platforms. Recently spotlighted in Variety for its runaway virality, the song has become a favorite for fans and artists alike, amassing over 123 million TikTok views, 8 million global streams, and inspiring thousands of fan-created videos that showcase its biting lyrics. Watch the video Below.  

The track is featured on her critically lauded album Roadrunner!, which Holler described as “something worthy of the silver screen.” The new video written and conceived by Butts and directed by Chris Beyrooty delivers on that cinematic promise. It harkens back to a classic western tale where the woman declared “unafraid to test boundaries,” by Rolling Stone, is the one administering her own brand of wild west justice offering a striking and comedic take on the track.

“Making this music video was something I’ve wanted to do since I put out this album,” shared Butts. “I’ve had the treatment for it since January 2024, when I was writing the videos for ‘Wild Juanita’s,’ ‘Hunt You Down’ and ‘Other Girls.’ When ‘You Ain’t Gotta Die’ started to have its viral moment, I was so excited to create something I’ve had in my head for so long. We looped in director Chris Beyrooty to help me bring it all to life and I could not be more pleased with how it turned out. I took some inspiration from some of my favorite movies, Holes, Django Unchained and Chicago. Expect a little dance with a side of blood, lipstick and justice.”

The video follows the breakout success of Butts’ 2024 album, Roadrunner!, which solidified her as one of the most inventive songwriters in modern country. She leaned into her lifelong love of musical theater and dreamed up a modern-day reimagining of the soundtrack to her all-time favorite musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!. It was praised as “epic, involved, entertaining, and thought-provoking” by Saving Country Music and hailed as “a brilliant showcase of what happens when you believe in yourself so much – and so well – that the world is left with no other purpose than to bend to your desires, whatever they may be,” by The Tennessean while No Depression called Butts “one of the more creative songwriters making country music right now” the much buzzed about troubadour is showing no signs of slowing down.
 
With a fearless songwriting style that blends humor, vulnerability, and theatricality, Butts has earned a reputation for music that pushes creative boundaries. “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead To Me)” has quickly become a defining moment of her career, bridging the acclaim of Roadrunner! with the viral energy of a new fan-favorite anthem.

This year, Butts will bring her live show to stages across the country, joining some of the genre’s biggest names. She will open for Lainey Wilson on her worldwide Whirlwind Tour, hit the road with Molly Tuttle on The Highway Knows Tour and join Ella Langley on her Still Hungover Tour. She will also reunite with Flatland Cavalry as part of their Flatland Forever(more) Tour, while making appearances at major fairs and festivals, including a highly anticipated set at AmericanaFest 2025.
 
For the latest news and tour dates visit kaitlinbutts.com, and follow along on Instagram, Facebook and X @kaitlinbutts and on TikTok @kaitlinbuttsmusic.

About Kaitlin Butts: 
“Unafraid to test boundaries” (Rolling Stone), Kaitlin Butts fearless approach to country music is helping her reach new heights. In 2024, Butts released her acclaimed album Roadrunner!. She leaned into her lifelong love of musical theater and dreamed up a modern-day reimagining of the soundtrack to her all-time favorite musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, which ended up on numerous best-of year-end lists. “With the last album I wanted to write about the struggles I’d seen people go through or experienced myself, so a lot of the songs had a sadness or darkness to them,” Butts explains. “I feel like Roadrunner! is much closer to what I’m like onstage, where there’s real emotion and truth but also humor and a tendency to poke fun. It’s all those different versions of me at once.” Butts also hit the road hard in 2024, making her Lollapalooza debut, opening for Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne and Flatland Cavalry, and trekking across the U.S. on her first-ever coast-to-coast headlining tour.
 
In 2025, the Tulsa-born, Nashville-based Butts is gearing up for another banner year. Butts will join Lainey Wilson on her Whirlwind Tour this Summer, and will also be featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame’s latest American Currents exhibition. In the exhibit, Butts is featured alongside artists like Lainey Wilson, Miranda Lambert, Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton and others. Butts has also joined the 2025 Opry Next Stage Class alongside Kashus Culpepper, Tigerlily, Tucker Wetmore, Dasha, Avery Anna and Chayce Beckham, as well as the CMT Next Women of Country Class of 2025.