Music

New Music from Jaime Wyatt, Outlaw Country’s Rising Star

In advance of her Shooter Jennings-produced album, Neon Cross, the singer-songwriter shares “Just a Woman,” featuring Jessi Colter

Photo: Magdalena Wosinska

Outlaw country is alive and well if you know where to listen for it, and savvy fans have been eagerly anticipating hearing more from Jaime Wyatt. The California-born singer-songwriter made waves in 2017 with Felony Blues, an autobiographical seven-song release that chronicled tales of hard time, hard drugs, and redemption through music. But even in the midst of the successful release, Wyatt grappled with tragedy. Her father passed away, followed shortly by a dear friend who overdosed, and she found herself in relapse. Thankfully, the years since have been transformative for the singer, who got clean, came out as gay, and wrote some damn good country songs in the process.

For her new album, Neon Cross, Wyatt holed up in the studio with Shooter Jennings, who lent his honky-tonk sensibilities as producer and duets with Wyatt on the country jam “Hurts So Bad,” rife with pedal steel. And Jennings isn’t the only familiar voice to make an appearance: Jessi Colter, outlaw country royalty (and, yes, Jennings’s mother), joins Wyatt on the standout track “Just a Woman,” which G&G is proud to premiere today. 

“I wrote “Just A Woman” to advocate for the vast majority of women who have not been heard, empowered, or encouraged to be anything more than meek, selfless, and beautiful,” Wyatt says of the track, which Colter describes as “a humorous admission of the age-old problem of the male and female condition.” The song’s slow tempo and wistful vocals belie a message of strength. “There’s not a man in this world I would rather be,” sings Wyatt, who punctuates each tender verse with a sarcastic refrain: “I’m just a woman, what do I know?” 

Stream “Just a Woman” below. Neon Cross will be released on May 29 and is available for preorder now


Dacey Orr Sivewright is a writer and editor based in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. An Atlanta native, she was Garden & Gun’s digital editor from 2016 to 2021 and has spent the last decade and a half covering music, food, and culture for Billboard, The Village Voice, Stereogum, Apartment Therapy, and other outlets. When not writing, she’s probably making a mess in her kitchen or spending time outside with her husband and daughter.