It’s New Music Friday. It’s time to pump some fresh life into your playlists so let’s get straight to it; there’s new stuff from an awesome Austinite and a Howdy Gals-presented release show this weekend to boot. Both of which you might’ve already caught wind of through yesterday’s Austin Music Minute.

Yep, it’s Madison Baker, the sultry songwriter who first cut their teeth with classic country and R&B covers in rural East Texas. For the past half-decade-plus, however, they’ve settled nice and naturally into Austin’s abundant indie-alt-pop atmosphere and earned a respectable following on streaming starting with 2019’s “Champagne Shine”. Outside of the solo front, it’s the beginning of a bold new era for this intimate mood-maker as they launch their “cult country” trio Next of Kin next month with the three-piece’s debut single.

And while Next of Kin ticks the box for Baker’s country background, their newest standalone is a real return to form in terms of their R&B upbringing. Instantly entering the ranks of wonderful “Wannabe”s right up there with Spice Girls, GloRilla, and Megan Thee Stallion, Madison Baker just shared “WANNABE” ahead of a single release show tomorrow night at Antone’s alongside our January 2023 Artist of the Month Skateland and The Past Lives. You’re gonna wanna be there, no doubt. Can’t make it? Well, you can still admire the intricate arrangement on “WANNABE”, one that inspires awe with all-too-relatable relationship turmoil, drum fills that hit you right in the feels, sophisticated chord changes, haunting vocal harmonies, and a ton of other nuances that make “WANNABE” a ripe candidate for repeat listens, well after you’ve already memorized the biting lyrics.

So the next time someone realtively-ill-suited behind the mic brags that they’re a sensational singer, you might wanna politely point to this one and say, “you’re just a Madison Baker wannabe”.

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