If you think modern country music has lost its wild side, Ian Munsick is here to set the record straight — and he’s bringing the entire Rocky Mountain range along for the ride.
It has been an absolute whirlwind summer for the Wyoming native. Between releasing his fourth studio album, The Mountain Goat, headlining Red Rocks, launching a Western clothing collection with Schaefer Outfitter and preparing to open his very own Cowboy Bar in Deadwood, South Dakota, Munsick isn’t simply riding the wave of his career. He’s steering it.
At the center of it all is The Mountain Goat, released August 21 via WEST TO THE REST RECORDS / Triple Tigers Records. Fully co-written by Munsick and co-produced alongside Jeremy Spillman and Mike Robinson, the 15-track project is his most personal and creatively ambitious statement yet, digging deeper into the Rocky Mountain roots that have always separated him from the Nashville pack.
And if there is one thing Munsick has never been interested in doing, it’s pretending to be something he’s not. For him, the cowboy hat isn’t a costume and the mountains aren’t simply a backdrop. They’re home — and after years of turning that world into music, he’s making it his mission to bring it to everyone else.
“It has been my goal from day one to bring the West to the rest because I think country music needs a lot more Western in it,” Ian shared in a statement.
Celeb Secrets caught up with Munsick on the red carpet at the 2026 ACM Awards in Las Vegas back in May, where he gave us an early preview of what was ahead. At the time, his fiddle-forward single “Love Is Blind” was making waves on country radio, and Munsick was particularly proud of the traditional instrumentation woven throughout the song.
“I think I’m just really proud of it,” Munsick exclusively told Celeb Secrets. “And it’s very catchy, I think, which always helps.”
“And there’s a lot of fiddle and steel,” he continued, “which country music needs more fiddle in it!”
With more than one billion career streams, an RIAA-Platinum “Long Live Cowgirls” with Cody Johnson and Gold-certified hits including “Long Haul” and “Horses Are Faster,” Munsick could easily play it safe. Instead, The Mountain Goat finds him digging deeper into his roots while taking even more control of his artistry.
The album marks his first full-length release through his own WEST TO THE REST RECORDS in partnership with Triple Tigers Records. Munsick co-wrote every song and is credited with playing nine instruments across the project, including acoustic and electric guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, harmonica, piano, bouzouki and even kazoo. It’s a project that feels rugged yet romantic, earthy yet modern.
“Geronimo” delivers a pulse-pounding rush of reckless love and “My Montana” leans into the romance of Big Sky country, while “Palomino Eyes” offers a softer look at his relationship with wife Caroline. Meanwhile, “Blue Roan” and “World War III” channel the protective emotions that came with becoming a girl dad to daughter Roan in 2025.
Then there’s “Earn Your Spurs,” which doubles as a mission statement for the entire album.
“Anyone can buy the boots, but you gotta earn your spurs,” Munsick sings, drawing a distinction between looking Western and actually living the lifestyle.
“I don’t want to come off as a jerk, but being a cowboy is a lot more than just wearing the hat,” he explained. “The main thing is just being able to be real and be who I am.”
If you think Ian is just using his Western roots for a hooky album, think again. Just days before The Mountain Goat arrived, he his wife and Caroline launched a capsule collection with Jackson Hole-founded Schaefer Outfitter, which is known for outfitting working cowboys and ranchers for the last four decades.
The collection features custom pearl-snap shirts, outerwear, hats and graphic tees, with the couple involved throughout the creative process. Pieces even pull inspiration from songs on The Mountain Goat, including “Geronimo.”
“I’ll be wearing every single piece both on stage and on the ranch in Wyoming,” he mentioned in a statement.
To cap off a week full of releases, the 33-year-old made his way back to Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Tuesday (August 25) for his second headlining show, his first following the release of The Mountain Goat. The night blended fan favorites with new songs, including “The Mountain Goat,” “Earn Your Spurs,” “Palomino Eyes,” “Medicine Man” and “Geronimo.” the most iconic spot to play music,” he said. “Can’t wait to go back there.”
Bringing some seriously special family and community moments, Night Hawk Juniors and drummers from The Crow Tribe opened the night with a Crow Hop-style performance. Later, Munsick welcomed Ryan Charles, aka Jiggy Buckaroo, for “Cowboy Killer,” joined by his six-year-old son Crawford James for the viral Belt Buckle Shuffle.
For the encore, his father, Dave Munsick, joined him onstage for “Horses Are Faster,” playing the original fiddle they used to record the song years ago.
But perhaps the most meaningful moment came when Munsick simply stopped to take it all in.
“Just like last time, I promised myself that I would take 30 seconds to soak up this moment, because this kind of moment only comes once in a lifetime,” he told the crowd. “For my kind of music, there is no better venue than Red Rocks Colorado, and it is a dream come true to be here with you tonight.”
Later, before “Long Haul,” he explained exactly why he has spent his career writing about the West.
“Growing up, I never heard songs about where I was from,” he said. “They were always songs about Georgia, Texas and Tennessee. So I promised myself at a very young age that I would write songs about horses, and cattle, and cowboys, and cowgirls, and mountains and the West.”
Ian’s Road to The Mountain Goat era is far from over. The 33-year-old continues his run with upcoming stops at the Colorado State Fair, San Angelo, the New Mexico State Fair and Deadwood Jam, while his Cowboy Bar & Western Grill in Deadwood is gearing up for its September opening.
“It’s coming along good. There’s a lot of construction going on right now, and the grand opening is gonna be September 17th,” he revealed when we asked how planning was going. “My wife is the one that kind of handles all of that. She does a much better job than me anyway.”
From new music and Western fashion to family, business ventures and some of the biggest stages in the country, Munsick’s summer has been less about reinventing himself and more about doubling down on exactly who he’s always been.
The West has never been something he needed to find. It was something he’s been carrying with him all along. And with The Mountain Goat now out in the wild, it looks like Ian Munsick is ready to take the whole country along for the ride.
For more on Ian’s music and upcoming ventures, watch our full interview from the 2026 ACM Awards below — and don’t forget to let us know if you’re loving The Mountain Goat by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecretcountry.
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