WESKO has spent the last few years proving that a guitar, a good story and a little bit of grit can still go a long way in country music. Now, he’s turning the volume up.
The North Carolina-bred singer-songwriter is officially ushering in his next chapter with “By Way of Alabama,” his latest single released last Friday (Sept. 18) via Warner Records.
Written alongside KK Johnson, Sam Backoff, and Joe Kirkland, and produced by Ryan Gore (Post Malone, Kacey Musgraves), “By Way of Alabama” is a road-worn, nostalgia-filled country track that tips its hat to the music that raised him while giving fans another glimpse at where he’s headed next.
“‘By Way of Alabama’ is my tribute to the country music I grew up on,” WESKO shares in a statement. “It’s packed with nods to the artists and songs that shaped me — from Alabama and John Prine to Dolly and Kenny Rogers and Tracy Lawrence. More than anything, it’s just a fun country song, and I had an absolute blast writing and recording it.”
Raised outside the swamps of Kenansville in Duplin County, North Carolina, WESKO (born Wesley Keith Holmes) spent his early days running a log loader at his family’s sawmill and working in erosion control. He picked up a guitar at age 19 simply out of boredom while on the road, and by 21, he stepped on stage at a Nashville bar for the first time on a dare.
Despite relocating to Music City after signing with Warner Records, WESKO keeps his blue-collar work ethic front and center.
“I still genuinely approach this job the same way I’ve approached every job I’ve ever had before,” WESKO tells Celeb Secrets. “It’s repetition… working that muscle, four or five writes a week… I just approach that grind as a regular job because, in my opinion, that’s what it is.”
Reflecting on his rapid rise, he admits the journey feels surreal: “Honestly, every morning I wake up and I can’t believe that I’m in the situation that I’m in… For the longest time I was just a kid with a guitar and million-dollar dreams, and I’m still a kid with a guitar and big dreams.”
While country fans know WESKO for his raw narrative style, his path to Music City held a turn that few saw coming. Before taking the leap into country music full-time, he was charting a completely different course toward courtroom litigation.
“I think one thing that a lot of my fans won’t know is that while I was in college, I was working my full-time job… but I do have a bachelor’s degree in History and a minor in Criminal Justice,” WESKO reveals to Celeb Secrets. “I had the full intention of applying for Campbell Law School in Raleigh, North Carolina. I wanted to be a lawyer there for a long time. Luckily, Warner Records saved me from that!”
That background in history and law wasn’t a total pivot. It actually laid the groundwork for his songwriting. Instead of reading case law, he turned that sharp eye for detail onto small-town reality, writing about real people, hard times, and heavy emotions with the kind of clarity you only get when you’ve studied human behavior up close.
Earlier this summer, WESKO released his four-song acoustic project, the Familiar Spirits EP, featuring stripped-back gems like “Hunting Ghosts,” “Seneca Guns,” and a fiery cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire.” Highlighting his plaintive vocals and intimate storytelling across haunting originals, the project is filled with rare, unvarnished vulnerability — ultimately giving the North Carolina troubadour a trademark quality that separates him from the rest of the modern country landscape.
However, WESKO made a deliberate choice to shift gears in July with the hard-hitting honky-tonk rocker “Big Bad Love.” Inspired by Bruce Springsteen and John Cougar Mellencamp, the track cranked the volume up to showcase a new, explosive side of his artistry.
“It was kind of my departure, my big farewell to the strictly acoustic stuff that I’ve done for so many years,” WESKO explains. “The main thing I wanted to show my fans is that I’m not just a one-trick pony… There’s a lot more to me and my artistry.”
With “Big Bad Love” and “By Way of Alabama” serving as previews, WESKO is hard at work putting the finishing touches on new music that is set to be released in the coming months.
“This new music is me,” WESKO tells Celeb Secrets. “All of the songs that I’ve been writing and cutting are songs that I feel are missing from country music today. I’m not looking to chase what’s popular right now. I’m genuinely just making music that I love to listen to.”
When asked what core truth he hopes fans take away from his music, he doesn’t hesitate: “It’s okay to be different. It’s alright to be from a small town, to live your life and be who you are… I kind of fashion myself a little bit of an outsider in the business here, because I tend to find comfort in carving my own lane.”
Listen to “By Way of Alabama” below and don’t forget to let us know if you’re loving the track and WESKO’s music by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecretscountry.
Wesko is set to open shows for Dwight Yoakam and ZZ Top later this month. View a full list of tour dates HERE.
Interview quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity. For more Country news, visit CelebSecretsCountry.com.
