Hear George Strait’s Biting New Song ‘Kicked Outta Country’

When George Strait put together his new box set Strait Out of the Box: Part 2, he fleshed out the collection of past hits with two new songs: “You’ve Gotta Go Through Hell” and “Kicked Outta Country.” The latter, written with Jamey Johnson, is a biting observation about casting aside veteran country artists as they enter their golden years.

“It was kind of a poke at country radio and it’s because it is harder for me to get ’em to play my records now,” Strait recently told Rolling Stone Country. “But I knew that was going to happen at some point and I always said I was going to accept it, there’s nothing I can do about it. And now it is happening and I’m trying to accept it.”

“Kicked Outta Country” and “You’ve Gotta Go Through Hell” are just two of several new songs the legendary Texas singer has been working on as of late. “I think it’s important to get something new out there,” he says of his decision to add fresh material to his retrospective box set. The 64-year-old singer, who entered a period of semi-retirement after his Cowboy Rides Away Tour in 2014, is also hard at work on a new studio album.

Strait recently announced a new string of dates in Las Vegas for April, July, September and December 2017.