A consistent and immediately engaging voice of country and western since the early 2000s, Wade Bowen mixes ’70s-style country traditionalism with pop gestures and emotionally nuanced lyrics. His catalog includes melancholic character sketches (“Mood Ring”), modern honky-tonk anthems (“Saturday Night”), and wry snapshots of country living (the Randy Rogers collaboration “Lady Bug”). Also look out for the breadth of musicianship demonstrated by his straightforward gospel recordings on 2016’s Then Sings My Soul… Songs for My Mother.