Even though I have seen Walker Hayes live on stage a few times, his 2021 EP Country Stuff is in fact the first Flyctory.com review I am doing of the US country artist. He did quite a change in appearance the last years – so I was also interested in how this could lead to an impact on his music. Release date of the six songs has been 4th June 2021.
Walker Hayes – About The Artist
Charles Edgar Walker Hayes was born on 27th December 1979 in Mobile, Alabama. He moved to Nashville at the age of 25. Five years later, he debuted with the single Pants, which has been quite successful regarding it was his first one. The second single Why Wait For Summer also placed in the 40’s of the US Country Charts, but the corresponding album Reason To Rhyme could not settle in the charts. In 2016 and 2019, he released three EPs all called 8Track with an additional sub-title. His next major success was the 2017 single You Broke Up With Me, however, which also became a double platinum record in the US. Boom, the related album, made it up to the sixth spot in the US Country Album Charts after its December 2017 release. He released a few songs thereafter (and the third 8Tracks EP), but overall, no song could connect to it. Country Stuff is already Walker Hayes’ fifth EP.
Walker Hayes – Country Stuff – Track by Track
The six track EP lasts 19 minutes
1. Country Stuff (feat. Jake Owen)
Hard to argue against that the title track, a collaboration with Jake Owen, is a cool track. Very modern pop country track with hip hop elements and a superb groove. Fun to listen, for sure.
2. Fancy Like
Apart from that this is a solo track without Jake Owen, I could use almost the same words I used for the opener for Fancy Like as well. Modern, Pop country (definitely more pop than country), a groove… Especially in this running order, Fancy Like is just facing a huge issue: the song is significantly worse and lacking really catching elements. It’s not (only) Jake Owen. The song is just not more than average, maybe even less than that.
3. Make You Cry
Not only because the song has a significantly higher country music touch, Make You Cry is pleasing me much more than its predecessor. A nice country song with pop elements. The song is good, but definitely does not meet Walker Hayes best productions.
4. I Hope You Miss Me
I hope you’re living out by the ocean
That’s always where you said you were going
LA baby on Sunset Drive
City of angels you should fit right in
You want the part baby go get it
Can’t wait to see your name in those credits
Hope you find yourself but selfishly
I hope you miss me
This song with an easy melody is driven by a really nicely told break-up story. Will that girl ever fulfil her dreams, becoming big as an actor, running into Jennifer Lopez and doing all these other celeb things? Or will she simply miss Walker Hayes. We won’t know. But we enjoy listening to the fourth track of this EP.
5. What If We Did (feat. Carly Pearce)
From my perspective, Walker Hayes already had a smile on my face with that track before I even listened to it. Teaming up with Carly Pearce, one of my favorites, can’t be that bad, can it? The song starts not too promising from my point of view, but it gets better. Unfortunately Carly is more or less (ab)used as a high quality background singer in this song – which is overall a bit too thin. Even including the Carly-factor in my review.
6. Briefcase (feat. Lori McKenna)
Another big name on the EP. Lori McKenna is so amazing, especially on the songwriting side. Much better collaboration than the song before – and a beautiful story. Really enjoyed to listen to these two people at the end of the EP.
Walker Hayes – Country Stuff – Spotify
Here is Country Stuff on Spotify:
Walker Hayes – Country Stuff – My View
Cpuntry Stuff is rather average. The title track is great, but there are too many weaker songs on this EP as well. The lyrics are typically not too bad – but this unique cheeky, ironic touch in Walker Hayes’ tracks feels to be faded. Bad luck, I loved it.
2021 Country Music Reviews
Here are all my 2021 published Media Reviews related to country music:

Nick Walker – It’s All South From Here EP

Lucinda Williams – Have Yourself A Rockin’ Little Christmas (Lu’s Jukebox Vol. 5)

Wade Bowen – Where Phones Don’t Work EP

Alena Neubert – A Life That’s Good

Armanda Shires – For Christmas

Jason Aldean – Macon

Billy Bragg – The Million Things That Never Happened

Dennis Adamus – Right For You

Brett Eldredge – Mr. Christmas

Tenille Arts – Girl To Girl

SixForty1 – Started Right Here EP

Det Haggard – Teamwork 2.0

Ryan Hurd – Pelago

Cassadee Pope – Thrive

Toby Keith – Peso In My Pocket

Josh Turner – King Size Manger

Crystal Leigh – Trading Skylines EP

Jesse Cole – SAND (Some Are Never Done)

Miko Marks & The Resurrectors – Race Records EP

Brandi Carlile – In These Silent Days

Logan Mize – Welcome To Prairieville

Billy Strings – Renewal

Mickey Guyton – Remember Her Name

Taylor McCall – Black Powder Soul

Charley Crockett – Music City USA

Peter Maffay – So Weit

Mitchell Tenpenny – Midtown Diaries EP

Riddy Arman – Riddy Arman

Ashland Craft – Travelin’ Kind

King Calaway – Midnight EP

Ashley Cooke – Already Drank That Beer Side A

Kalie Shorr – I Got Here By Accident EP

Jayne Denham – Wanted

Dan + Shay – Good Things

Clare Dunn – In This Kind Of Light EP

Emily Rose – Wings EP

Chris Young – Famous Friends

Laci Kaye Booth – Laci Kaye Booth

Leah Blevins – First Time Feeling

Jim Lauderdale – Hope

Son Volt – Electro Melodier

Ryan Kinder – Room To Dream

Clay Walker – Texas To Tennessee

Los Lobos – Native Sons

Jolina Carl – Mexican Overdrive

Rodney Crowell – Triage

Charlie Worsham – Sugarcane EP

Alee – Feels Like This

Midland – The Last Resort EP

Lucinda Williams – Lu’s Jukebox Vol. 2 – Southern Soul: From Memphis To Muscle Shoals

Callie Twisselman – Closure EP

Tigirlily – Tigirlily EP

The Flatlanders – Treasure Of Love

Lauren Jenkins – Miles On Me, Part 1 EP

The Wallflowers – Exit Wounds

LANCO – Honky-Tonk Hippies EP

Riley Green – Behind The Bar EP

Brent Moyer – Song Rider

The Heels – I Am

Vincent Neil Emerson – Vincent Neil Emerson

Gary Allan – Ruthless

Meghan Patrick – Heart On My Glass

Amythyst Kiah – Wary + Strange

pez – All Lowercase EP

Richie Necker – New Songs and Untold Stories

Kylie Morgan – Love, Kylie EP

Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real – A Few Stars Apart

Brett Young – Weekends Look A Little Different These Days

Andrew Jannakos – Gone Too Soon EP

Black River Delta – Shakin’

Brynn Cartelli – Based On A True Story EP

Southerland – Boot Up EP

Lori Rayne – 1926 EP

Blackberry Smoke – You Hear Georgia

John Hiatt With The Jerry Douglas Band – Leftover Feelings

Alexander Ludwig – Alexander Ludwig EP

Jordan Davis – Buy Dirt EP

Blake Shelton – Body Laguage

Oliver Wood – Always Smilin’

Jesse Keith Whitley – Breakin’ Ground

Dillon Carmichael – Hot Beer EP

Alan Jackson – Where Have You Gone

The Steel Woods – All Of Your Stones

Emma Moore – the table EP

Travis Tritt – Set In Stone

Matt Castillo – How The River Flows EP

Thomas Rhett – Country Again: Side A

Priscilla Block – Priscilla Block EP

Ronnie Milsap – A Better Word For Love

Todd Snider – First Agnostic Church of Hope And Wonder

Elvie Shane – County Roads EP

Adam Douglas – Better Angels

Justin Moore – Straight Outta The Country

Carver Louis – Take Off EP

Eric Church – Soul

Eric Church – &

Eric Church – Heart

Brett Kissel – What Is Life?

Charlotte Young – Coffee and Conversations EP

Fancy Hagood – Southern Curiosity

Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band – Dance Songs For The Hard Times

Jon Randall – Neon Texas EP

Canaan Smith – High Country Sound

Leslie Jordan – Company’s Comin’

Truck Stop – Liebe, Lust und Laster

Tyler Braden – What Do They Know EP

Carrie Underwood – My Savior

Esther Rose – How Many Times

Sara Watkins – Under The Pepper Tree

Timo Scharf – Everything Ever Always Is All Forgotten EP

Kora Naughton – Nineteen

Midland – The Sonic Ranch

Loretta Lynn – Still Woman Enough

Morgan Wade – Reckless

Joey Hendricks – Between The Clouds EP

Alyssa Trahan – Baby Blues & Stilettos

Christina Taylor – Covers Vol. 1 EP

Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird – These 13

Track 45 – Big Dreams EP

Adam Warner – Big Storm

Kaylee Bell – The Red EP (EP)

Hayden Joseph – Different

Willie Nelson – That’s Life

Adam Hambrick – The Flipsides EP

Jess Moskaluke – The Demos

Carly Pearce – 29 EP

Jack McBannon – True Stories

Lainey Wilson – Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’

Callista Clark – Real To Me EP

Haley Mae Campbell – Growing Up EP

Tobacco Rd Band – Worth Fighting For

Florida Georgia Line – Life Rolls On

Dustin Bird – Unscripted

Colton Chapman – Can’t Hide The Truth EP

Alex Hall – Six Strings EP

Ben Ransom – Brave New World

Daniel Holmes – Dead End Town

Lucero – When You Found Me

Jake Hoot – Love Out Of Time EP

Langhorne Slim – Strawberry Mansion

Logan Mize – Still That Kid

Matt Wynn – Matt Wynn EP

Tebey – The Good Ones

Jimmy Weber – Black & Blue Heart

Willie Jones – Right Now

Chelsea Berman – Can You Just Not EP

Kerri Watt – Neptune’s Daughter

Petric – Flashbacks

Devin Dawson – The Pink Slip EP

Whitney Duncan – Heartbreaker EP

Morgan Wallen – Dangerous – The Double Album

Colby Keeling – Catch Me If You Can EP

Aaron Watson – American Soul

Barry Gibb & Friends – Greenfields – The Gibb Brothers’ Songbook Vol. 1

Tanner Sparks – Living A Nightmare
Museums and Exhibitions in Rhineland / Ruhr Region
Here are all museum and exhibition reviews tagged with All around Cologne:

Road Stop Motel Mettmann (Presidential Suite)

German Röntgen Museum Remscheid

House of German History (Haus der Geschichte) Bonn

Visiodrom Wuppertal

Bergisches Museum for Mining, Craft & Trade Bensberg

Deutsches Museum Bonn

Chocolate Museum Cologne (Schokoladenmuseum)

Arithmeum Bonn – A Museum about Calculations

Historic Mustard Mill Cologne

Stars Of The Galaxy – A Star Wars Shrine in Mönchengladbach

Andernach Geyser

German Blade Museum Solingen

The Scherz-Tour – A Different RheinEnergieSTADION Cologne Tour

Bergisch Historic Trams Wuppertal

Museum Plagiarius Solingen – The Place for Copies

Lindlar Open Air Museum

Alte Dombach Paper Mill

Ratingen-Cromford Textile Factory

The Eau de Cologne Giants – 4711 vs. Farina
