FLATLAND CAVALRY GETS REAL ABOUT THE ROAD LIFE ON SOUL-SEARCHING NEW SINGLE “GONE”

Acclaimed country-roots six-piece Flatland Cavalry returns with their soul-searching new single “Gone.” Accompanied by a lyric video, “Gone” marks the Texas-bred band’s first release since signing with the newly relaunched Lost Highway Records.

One of their first releases since 2024’s Flatland Forever (a critically lauded compilation featuring some of their most beloved songs to date), “Gone” ushers in a bold new era for Flatland Cavalry: Cleto Cordero (vocals, acoustic guitar), Jason Albers (drums, percussion), Jonathan Saenz (bass), Reid Dillon (electric guitar), Wesley Hall (fiddle), and Adam Gallegos (piano, organ, keys, mandolin, banjo). Arriving just ahead of their headline show at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre next Monday (October 20), “Gone” finds the band looking back on their decade-plus journey of nonstop touring.

“Since our last show of the tour is at Red Rocks, it felt right to utilize the moment by tipping our hats to where all we’ve been, and to tee up what’s to come next — I could just imagine singing that line ‘Chased them clouds in Colorado’ and all the folks cheering along,” says Cordero. “We recorded a batch of songs earlier this year, and ‘Gone’ was the first because it was closest to my heart as we transitioned from being gone for a month to being straight into the studio. I feel like a piece of you gets woven into the mix, and when I listen to the recording of that song, I feel the soul of a man that’s been away for the last 10 years.”

Produced by Dwight Baker, “Gone” arrives as a riveting piece of storytelling from a band hailed by Rolling Stone as “one of the most dynamic presences in country music.” In a shining example of Flatland Cavalry’s signature “Easy on the ears, heavy on the heart” sound, the midtempo tune unfolds in wistful fiddle melodies and warm guitar tones as Cordero begins to spin a gritty but quietly triumphant portrait of a life lived on the road (“Well, I got drunk with buds in Dublin/I’ve been sober in October/Wandered through the darkness/Stuck around to greet the dawn”). At its heart-stirring chorus, “Gone” inhabits a tender intensity as Flatland Cavalry speaks to the emotional toll of endless vagabonding (“Living out an outlaw cowboy song/It’s a heavy price to pay/I’ll make light of it someday/With a tale to tell for each one/I’ve been gone”).

Co-written by Cordero, Ryan Beaver (Luke Bryan, Parker McCollum), and Aaron Eshuis (Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts), “Gone” takes on a potent energy at the second verse, threading its confessional self-reflection with a bit of quick-witted poetry (“In my mind I’m just a drifter/A traveler, a visitor/Turning over miles, turning pages, turning stones/Spurring late-night conversation/Otherworldly observations/By the time I make some sense of it/I’ll be moving on”). After tearing through an entrancing instrumental section graced with Dillon’s fiery guitar work, Flatland Cavalry builds to a piano-led bridge that brings the story to a powerful crescendo: “And when they call my number/To the Gatherin’ of Goners/I’ll wear my rambler’s smile with honor/And waltz into the Great Beyond.”

Last month, Flatland Cavalry released “Midland After Midnight,” a timelessly romantic track featured on Landman – Songs From and Inspired by the Paramount+ Original Series (Volume I). The official soundtrack to the hit series (a modern tale of fortune-seeking amongst roughnecks and billionaires in the world of oil, starring Billy Bob Thornton, Ali Larter, Michael Peña, Jon Hamm, and Demi Moore), the compilation also includes songs by Parker McCollum, Ella Langley, Red Clay Strays, George Strait ft. Chris Stapleton, and more.

With support from Kaitlin Butts and Angel White, Flatland Cavalry’s forthcoming Red Rocks show will serve as the last stop on a major headline run that’s also included a sold-out performance at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX. Flatland Cavalry will be joining Lainey Wilson’s Whirlwind World Tour as a special guest in Australia and New Zealand in February 2026.

In another career highlight for Flatland Cavalry, last Thursday marked the premiere of Flatland Forever: A Texas Tech Story — a first-of-its-kind documentary chronicling the band’s early days and their roots at Texas Tech University, where Cordero, Dillon, Gallegos, and Albers all studied. Visit Texas Tech’s official YouTube account to watch Flatland Forever: A Texas Tech Story now. Along with the documentary premiere, the band was inducted in the West Texas Walk of Fame.

Over the past two years alone, Flatland Cavalry has achieved a number of major milestones, such as garnering their first ACM Award nomination (in the category of Group of the Year) and earning their first RIAA Gold certification (for their breakout single “A Life Where We Work Out”). In an auspicious start to their new chapter, the band’s signing to Lost Highway Records finds them joining the ranks of culture-shifting acts who’ve called the label home, including Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Robert Earl Keen, and many more. More new music from Flatland Cavalry is on the way soon.

ABOUT FLATLAND CAVALRY

Since playing their first show as a group in Lubbock, TX, in 2014, Flatland Cavalry has received widespread attention from fans, fellow artists, and critics alike, with Rolling Stone declaring, “Flatland Cavalry Are at the Fore of the Red Dirt Renaissance…one of the most dynamic presences in country music,” while The Wall Street Journal praises, “This is a straightforward, upbeat electrified country-rock band,” and American Songwriter proclaims, “a dynamic representation of country music…Kris Kristofferson and John Prine’s enduring influence of folk storytelling traces through.” The band also recently wrote and recorded songs for two major film soundtracks (Twisters and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), received their first ACM Awards nomination (Group of the Year), and had music featured on Paramount’s Yellowstone and Landman as well as Netflix’s The Ranch. Additionally, they’ve garnered more than 1 billion streams across platforms to date in the U.S. alone, earned six #1 singles at Texas Country Radio, and toured relentlessly — including countless sold-out headline dates and shows with Willie Nelson, Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson, Jordan Davis, Midland, and more. Most recently, the band achieved a major career milestone, selling out their first headline arena show at Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena on New Year’s Eve. Based in both Texas and Nashville, Flatland Cavalry is Cleto Cordero (vocals, acoustic guitar), Jason Albers (drums, percussion), Jonathan Saenz (bass, background vocals), Reid Dillon (electric guitar), Wesley Hall (fiddle), and Adam Gallegos (piano, organ, keys, mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar, Wurlitzer, Mellotron).