Hear Joshua Hedley Keep His Chin Up on 'I Never (Shed a Tear)' [Fresh Track]

Last month, longtime Nashville sideman turned ace country frontman Joshua Hedley announced the details of his Third Man Records debut and released a video for the album's title track. The record, Mr. Jukebox, is set for release on April 20, and that's good news for fans of classic honky-tonk crooning — Hedley is a golden-voiced songster in the vein of Mel, Merle and George.

So then, here's another little sliver of Hedley's honeyed warbling for you: Today, the singer debuted another track from Mr. Jukebox. You can hear "I Never (Shed a Tear)" via the YouTube embed above, or via Spotify, Tidal or Apple Music. You can find links to all those streaming options — as well as to a Third Man pre-order page — right here.

"I Never (Shed a Tear)" is a gorgeous, loping two-minute-and-change waltz full of lush backing vocals and swaths of pedal steel. But front and center are Hedley's rock-solid vocals. The song is, ostensibly, about how a withered romance didn't really get the better of Hedley. "We never were in love," he sings. "There were never stars above." But as is so often the case — in country music as in life — it's all a bit of artifice to hide the pain: "It's not hard to realize when you look into my eyes, that the truth is this is how I make it through."

Give the tune a listen, and get your tickets to Hedley's April 24 release show at The Basement East (with the also-top-notch Cale Tyson and Erin Rae opening) right here.