Wade Bowen‘s new album, The Version of Me You Get, is out now. The ten-track record, Bowen’s 11th, is a bit of a new musical chapter for him, in the best way possible.

“It was a different process,” Bowen admits to Everything Nash. “I think you’re hearing a different album for sure. It’s one of those that, for one,  I usually take forever to write a record. I take months and months, sometimes even a year to write a record. And then I look back and reflect and say, ‘Okay, what have I been trying to say? What’s going on here? What does this record mean?’ And with this one, we holed up in Sean McConnell’s studio and made this, and wrote it in a few days, and just recorded it- everything, every instrument one by one, and built everything from ground zero. I’ve never done that before with anything.”

Perhaps surprisingly, Bowen has had The Version Of Me You Get for six years, waiting until the right time to release the record.

“We did this actually in 2020, when we actually wrote and recorded everything,” Bowen reveals. “We were holed up and just figuring everything out. It was a crazy process that I’ve never done before and haven’t done since. I don’t know if I’ll ever do it again like this. I hear this record, and it was just a moment in time that we captured.”

Wade Bowen Reveals His Favorite Songs On ‘The Version of Me You Get’

Not surprisingly, Bowen has two favorite songs from the ten on The Version of Me You Get, both “Rain” and the record’s title track. “Rain” feels more personal than ever to Bowen, after surviving vocal problems, which resulted in him needing surgery, a daunting option for any singer.

Bowen is also grieving the loss of his nephew, who was on the road with Bowen, and tragically took his own life.

“‘Rain’ is the most personal because it was the way for me to finally write about all of that in one song,” Bowen says. “I couldn’t quite figure out how to do it, and then ‘Rain’ was, ‘Oh, okay. I finally figured out a way to talk about these things and relate all of it to a storm.’ The best way to say it is, it’s almost like an uplifting song for me now, because I feel like sometimes when you go through hell, the best thing you can find out is that you made it on the other side, and that you made it through. And that’s what that song reminds me that it’s okay to go through it. You gotta find a way to get through it. And so, that one means a lot to me.”

“The Version of Me You Get” is also special to Bowen, giving listeners a glimpse into Bowen’s own life that they haven’t seen since his career began.

“I think it’s the most vulnerable I’ve ever been as a writer,” Bowen says. “It talks about my mistakes and my faults, and the things that I wish I could change or make better. But it also talks about learning from those things, and trying to be a better man and a better person and a better husband and a better father. When I wrote that and when I hear it every time, it almost breaks my heart. But also, I think it’s an older, wiser version of me, talking about myself. And I’m very, very proud of that song.”

Bowen’s debut Try Not to Listen album came out in 2002. With more than 20 years as part of country music already, no one is more grateful than Bowen to be able to still make a living as a singer and songwriter.

“I’m very lucky to have the fans that listen to our music,” Bowen says. “It’s amazing that they still support us all these years. And I think having new music for them is always fun to hear their reactions and responses, especially this record. It’s a little different, so I’m excited to get this thing out and see what the overall response is.”

Wade Bowen’s ‘The Version of Me’ You Get Track List

1. Rain
2. Burned In The Fire
3. People Like Us
4. Weight On The Levee
5. Turpentine
6. Better Left Alone
7. One More One Last Time
8. The Garden
9. Hard World
10. The Version Of Me You Get

Photo Credit: Cameron Gott