Koe Wetzel released a brand-new song, titled “Damn Near Normal,” giving fans a taste of what’s to come on his forthcoming new album.
The 31-year-old Texas native and Platinum-selling singer-songwriter dropped the tune on Friday, March 8, following an event at RCA Studio A in Nashville that previewed his upcoming new project, including the new song, with critics and music industry personnel.
New Koe Wetzel Song: “Damn Near Normal”
The track, which marks his first new song in nearly two years and follows 2022’s Hell Paso, offers a raw and honest look into the singer’s lifestyle and how he often struggles with finding a sense of normalcy.
Co-written by Wetzel alongside Gabe Simon, Amy Allen, Carrie Karpinen and artist Sam Harris, “Damn Near Normal” finds Wetzel reflecting on his non-traditional take on life, while realizing that it doesn’t always conform to what is commonly perceived as a “normal” lifestyle.
“‘Damn Near Normal’ is a song about this lifestyle that is anything but,” Wetzel reflected of the tune, released via Columbia Records. “Waking up somewhere new on the road every day, up playing music all hours of the night with our fans… this is a wild ride we’re on that looks totally different than most people’s ‘normal’… but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The tune begins with Wetzel introducing the conventional path of a “real job, good wife, two kids,” from which he has strayed away from to pursue his musical dreams, a path that often leads to loneliness and uncertainty. In the song’s chorus, Koe Wetzel describes how he handles his unconventional lifestyle with coping mechanisms, such as drinking “ten times the weight of a sober man” and using “a little melatonin and a bag of weed, plus a fistful of Xans just to fall asleep.”
Throughout the song’s lyrics, the repeated phrase “damn near normal” suggests that he’s accepted his crazy life as the new normal. “Yeah, it’s kind of different than it’s supposed to be/ But that’s damn near normal to me,” Wetzel concludes on the track’s chorus.
“Damn Near Normal” Music Video
In addition to releasing the song, Wetzel dropped a music video for the track. Directed by John Park, the “Damn Near Normal” music video finds Wetzel returning to his childhood home in Pittsburgh, Texas, and reminiscing on his life.
The clip begins with Wetzel asking, “Where should I start?” As the music video continues, Wetzel wanders through the house that he grew up in, intertwined with clips of his high school, hometown hot spots, and personal family footage and photos, representing what he has endured throughout his life.
“I went back home to my hometown and videoed the house I grew up in, just basically the entire town. I just got to show everything that’s going on now with my life and that it’s not a whole lot different than it was back then… People always have these misconceptions about me and who I am as a person til they get to meet me. So it’s just kind of showing them, I haven’t really changed a whole lot. I’m just a normal dude, just making music. That’s all I’ve ever done was make music,” Wetzel shared of the music video.
The New Song Was First Announced On Koe Wetzel Day
Koe Wetzel first announced “Damn Near Normal” on ‘Koe Wetzel Day’ at the Riot Room in Fort Worth, Texas. On February 28, the country outlaw was presented with a plaque for his single “Drunk Driving” achieving Platinum certification by the RIAA. The presentation was held on ‘Koe Wetzel Day’ in celebration of his song “February 28, 2016,” a track that is featured on his album, Noise Complaint.
Additionally, Koe Wetzel is schedule to perform at several major festivals this year, including Rock the Country, Tortuga, Cattle Country, Country Thunder, Country Jam, Watershed and more, in addition to several headlining dates across California and a hometown stadium show as he joins Morgan Wallen’s One Night At A Time World Tour in Arlington, Texas this July.
For more information and to purchase tickets to all upcoming dates, visit KoeWetzelMusic.com.
