It’s been a long stretch since fans of Sam Hunt last enjoyed a fresh album—2,274 days, to be exact. The wait for new music has been a topic of discussion and anticipation within the music industry and among his fans.
Hunt’s previous album, “Southside,” was released in 2020 and marks one of only two LPs in his discography. Despite his enduring popularity, his fans have had little new music to celebrate. The last time Hunt released a single, “Liberty,” was way back in November 2024.
Hopes were rekindled when Hunt embarked on an 18-date tour last year, sparking speculation that new tracks might be on the horizon. However, the tour concluded without any new releases, leaving fans wondering what’s next.
Considering Hunt’s impressive achievement of amassing over 16 billion all-time global streams— a billion of which are solely attributed to his megahit “Body Like a Back Road”—his absence from the studio is puzzling. Nashville, the heart of the country music scene, is undoubtedly buzzing with questions about his next move.
So, what has kept this chart-topping artist away from releasing new music?
Hunt, 41, has been living a slower life. The five-time Grammy-nominee’s posts have given fans a glimpse of his life away from the spotlight: fishing, bird hunting with his father and spending time with his three children, Lucy Louise, Lowry Lee and Weyman Allen, who he shares with his wife Hannah Fowler.
Sam Hunt’s apparent retreat from music has been a hot topic of conversation in Nashville
His wife Hannah Lee Fowler, 40, is said to be behind Hunt’s decision to ease up on his music career, with one insider telling the Daily Mail that she offered him somewhat of an ultimatum
It is Fowler, 40, who is said to be behind Hunt’s decision to ease up on his music career, with one insider telling the Daily Mail that she offered him somewhat of an ultimatum.
‘He is a homebody and loves his family, his farm but he also loves music. It’s been a long-time point of contention that those two things clash for Hannah,’ one insider told us. ‘The label got an EP and some singles out of him recently but touring heavily is probably not on the table for right now.’
Fowler’s concerns are not arbitrary. For the couple, who married in 2017, have had a tumultuous relationship, punctuated by a brief divorce filing in 2022. Fowler cited ‘inappropriate marital conduct.’ They never went ahead with the split, instead reconciling and welcoming their first child, daughter Lucy, just weeks later.
But sources claim Fowler has ‘always had a tight grip on [Hunt]’ even before allegations of his infidelity.
The two are believed to have met sometime in 2008 when Hunt was playing football for the University of Alabama Birmingham. Theirs was a rocky start, with the couple on and off until it finally ended when he moved to Nashville to kickstart his music career.
After the immense success of his debut album – named after Fowler’s hometown of Montevallo, Alabama – he told Entertainment Tonight how he flew to Hawaii where she was living seven times before finally convincing her to move to Nashville with him.
‘I had never visited Montevallo, but right before I left to go to Nashville, I met a girl from there,’ he told E! News in 2014. ‘A lot of the experiences I had with her and the relationship I had with her, that inspired a lot of the song writing on the album.’
After another brief off-again stint, Hunt announced in January of 2017 he had proposed to Fowler in Israel ‘by the Sea of Galilee.’ On par with their relationship, the proposal followed a fight the two had gotten into, he said.
Hunt, 41, performed a handful of gigs last year, but hasn’t released a single since 2024 or an album since 2020 (pictured performing at Country Summer Music Festival in 2025)
‘When he goes back on tour, he could be back to his shenanigans,’ our insider said. ‘[Hannah] wants to keep him home to keep an eye on him’
The couple, who met sometime in 2008, have three children together
‘Something came up that irritated her and I realized this may mess up my big plan to ask her to marry me that night, and it kind of agitated me more about this issue,’ he said. ‘It turned into this kind of fight that, fortunately, led to the perfect opportunity to ask her to marry me. So this little altercation we had actually worked out. It was a special moment.’
But their marriage, just months later, didn’t end the early alleged volatility – it seemingly got worse.
Sources claim there was always talk of his alleged promiscuity – something Hunt himself has alluded to in his lyrics. ‘I’ve gone off the deep end, company I’m keeping is messing me up/ The good girls at home sleeping, while I’m out creeping ’til the sun comes up,’ he sings on Single for the Summer.
In 2019 he was arrested for DUI in East Nashville after officers caught him swerving in and out of lanes and driving on the wrong side of the road. He pleaded guilty to two counts of DUI and was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days in jail with all time suspended except for 48 hours. He also lost his license for a year, had an interlock installed in his vehicle and attended an alcohol safety course.
Six years later, Hunt was arrested once again in Tennessee, this time for speeding and violating an interlock device. He was jailed and released the same day on $1,500 bond. He did not face any charges.
‘Sam’s wife had to deal with him getting caught driving drunk,’ one industry insider said of the incident. ‘So would you want your husband to ever do anything again?’
Hunt has often addressed his wife’s support in his lyrics, in particular how Fowler struggled with being a public figure.
Sources claim there was always talk of his alleged promiscuity – something Hunt himself has alluded to in his lyrics (pictured performing in 2017)
In 2019 Hunt was arrested for DUI in East Nashville after officers caught him swerving in and out of lanes and driving on the wrong side of the road (mugshot pictured)
On his 2020 single Locked Up he sang: ‘I knew you were down for me back when we met / But I didn’t know how down for me you’d really get / When you picked up my pieces and my only call.’
He sang about their earlier troubles on Drinkin’ Too Much, which was released two days before their engagement was announced in 2017.
‘I never wanted to be a heartbreaker / Turn your sisters and their friends into matchmakers,’ he sings on the track. ‘I know you think my dreams came true / Since you been gone, singin’ these songs are just something to do / The only dream I ever had was you.’
So it’s perhaps no surprise that Fowler would have reservations about him hitting the road.
‘Sam is literally one of the nicest humans in country music,’ said our insider. ‘Unfortunately, he’s in love with someone who has basically made it clear that if he loves her and wants her, he needs to take a step back from the music and touring and focus on her.
‘When he goes back on tour, he could be back to his shenanigans. She wants to keep him home to keep an eye on him.’
The decision is a sucker punch for many Country Music execs who feel the genre needs Hunt.
‘What’s missing from the genre right now? It’s Sam Hunt in a significant way. If Sam Hunt walked in right now and did the exact thing he did ten years ago, he would save Country Music,’ a second insider said.
His retreat from the music scene is a sucker punch for many Country Music execs who feel the genre needs Hunt. ‘If Sam Hunt walked in right now and did the exact thing he did 10 years ago, he would save Country Music,’ a second insider said
Another added: ‘Sam started the whole content Golden Age. He was the first person in Country that was making highly-produced content that was strictly for social media and documenting touring in a big way. That lit the whole industry on fire and now he couldn’t be further away from that.’
Further away in both a figurative and literal sense, with Sam seemingly hiding out in his four-bedroom cabin outside of Nashville.
Hunt’s fans and the industry are in alignment in wanting more from him. His most recent post on Father’s Day left many wondering if new music was finally coming.
Even the caption, ‘Blackberries growing on the property line, staining little hands that look like mine,’ led many to believe he was teasing lyrics for an upcoming song.
‘This is what you call RICH IN LIFE. I’m seeing and hearing new music inspiration,’ one comment read.
Another added: ‘I’m hoping this means new song, which means new album, which means new tour.’
But unfortunately for fans, an industry exec has said there are ‘no rumblings of new music.’
‘He’s taken a back step,’ they said. ‘He’s taking time to focus on his family. I haven’t heard of anything imminent but he’s the kind of artist that could surprise us with something at any moment.’
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Hunt for comment.
![‘When he goes back on tour, he could be back to his shenanigans,' our insider said. '[Hannah] wants to keep him home to keep an eye on him’](https://i.dailymail.com/1s/2026/06/26/18/109628325-15932749-image-a-20_1782494765339.jpg)
