Wade Bowen Shelved 'The Version of Me You Get.' Now the Waco, Texas Singer Takes It to Red Rocks

Waco, Texas country singer Wade Bowen made an album, then put it on the shelf. Now, The Version of Me You Get is out on Thirty Tigers, and Bowen is taking it to Red Rocks Amphitheater with Koe Wetzel this Wednesday, Oct. 28.

The record he wasn't ready to release

The album landed Sept. 25 as Bowen's 11th studio album: ten songs co-produced with longtime friend Sean McConnell, according to Country in the UK. Unlike his usual album process, Bowen archived the project and didn't feel ready to put it out until now.

"I didn't really know what I was looking for when I first made this record," he said. "It wasn't until recently that I pulled it back out." After the last few years, personally and in his career, the songs felt more relevant, with themes of love, struggle, redemption and vulnerability.

Saving Country Music's editor noted in a reply to readers that the press materials said the album was written during one of Bowen's "hardest chapters," though they didn't say when it was written or recorded.

Gritty, hard country

Saving Country Music scored it 8.1 out of 10, calling it "a surprisingly jagged-edged, gritty, and at times, hard country affair." The reviewer hears the opener "Rain" alluding to last year's catastrophic central Texas flooding and names Dan Tyminski alongside McConnell on "The Weight On The Levee," comparing its heaviness to Chris Stapleton's most heart-rending songs.

"Rain" was the first single, and "People Like Us" followed with the album announcement. The set closes on the title track, a piano ballad.

A Texas country lifer

Bowen, born in Waco in 1978, has been at it since 2000, starting out in West 84 with Matt Miller, per Wikipedia. His 2002 debut Try Not to Listen was a regional hit in Texas, and his first live album, The Blue Light Live, was recorded at The Blue Light in Lubbock.

He later released The Given on major label BNA Records, then returned to releasing music independently after BNA closed. His duet album with Randy Rogers, Hold My Beer, Vol. 1, peaked at No. 4 on the US Country chart, his highest peak on Wikipedia. During the pandemic, he hosted Wade's World, a Friday-night web series of live shows with Texas musicians.

The Koe Wetzel dates bring him to Red Rocks in Morrison, Colorado, on Oct. 28, then back to Lubbock, home of his alma mater Texas Tech, for Cooks Garage on Friday, Oct. 30, according to Country in the UK's tour listing and TickPick.

Where to listen and follow

The Version of Me You Get is out now on Thirty Tigers. Tour dates and updates: wadebowen.com.

Sources

Country in the UK — "Wade Bowen Announces New Album The Version of Me You Get, Out September 25"
Saving Country Music — "Album Review – Wade Bowen's 'The Version of Me You Get'"
Wikipedia — "Wade Bowen"
TickPick — "Koe Wetzel & Wade Bowen – Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Oct. 28, 2026"
TickPick — "Koe Wetzel & Wade Bowen – Cooks Garage, Lubbock, Oct. 30, 2026"