With $10 Cowboy, Charley Crockett didn’t set out to make a themed record. He had released a concept album in 2022, the critically acclaimed Man From Waco – which Rolling Stone named the #2 best Country album of the year – propelling Crockett to new heights and establishing him as one of the leaders of a sparkling revival of traditional country and folk music through sold out shows, late night TV performances, a live album release and critical acclaim sets the stage for his newest album, $10 Cowboy.

Produced by Billy Horton and Crockett himself, the new album features all new recordings captured in Austin, TX at Arlyn Studios & Church House Studios. Crockett wrote freely, over a two-month period, as he wound his way across the United States on the back of a tour bus. The resulting songs—raw, personal, vivid portraits of a country in transition—ended up being connected after all.

As the album unfolds, you begin to understand that a $10 Cowboy is anyone who has hustled to get by, who didn’t fit in, who has slept on other people’s couches, or the street, who has fallen down, gotten up, and ventured from home chasing a paying gig, or a new start.

No, Crockett didn’t set out to write a themed record. Or, through his studied eye, to find America. But with $10 Cowboy, he might have done both.