Stephen Wilson Jr. Shares Official Video For 'Gary' Starring Gary Sinise

Official Announcement | Published: Mar 15, 2026 3:57 PM EDT

(Big Loud) Indiana-born, Nashville-based rising star Stephen Wilson Jr. released the official video for his latest single "Gary," directed by Tim Cofield, starring the award-winning actor Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump, Apollo 13). The video arrives today on the anniversary of the passing of a teenager named Gary who helped inspire Wilson Jr. to write the song when he came across a roadside memorial in his name.

Alongside the video, Wilson Jr. has shared a taxonomic analysis of "Gary":
"(Garis mechanicus) Kingdom: Animalia - Phylum: Chordata... - a dying breed, endangered species of fixer. dwelling naturally in a habitat of grease, oil & stereo static. drawn to the roar of 8 cylinders firing in perfect unison or the sound of restricted PVC stably flowing once again. a fixer by nature - born into a broken world. may he run once again."

Gary Sinise adds, "I heard Stephen's song and loved it. Two weeks later he reached out to me to be in the video. He's got a great team, a great song and it was a blast to work with them all on the video. And you know...there ain't a lotta boys named Gary these days."

In November, Wilson Jr. followed up his critically-acclaimed debut double album søn of dad with the release of "Gary," which he premiered with an electrifying performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He closed out 2025 with a performance of the song at the end of his appearance on This Past Weekend with Theo Von, and in February performed it during his interview on The Howard Stern Show.

"Gary" was praised by Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, and Billboard who proclaimed it "reinforce[s] his reputation as a superb musical craftsman." The song marks Wilson Jr.'s first single at County Radio and is currently at #40 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart.

On March 6, Wilson Jr. kicked off his entirely sold-out Gary The Torch Tour, which will make upcoming stops in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Denver, Chicago and more. He also announced he will support Dave Matthews Band on September 4 at the Gorge Amphitheater and Brandi Carlile on September 11-13 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Tomorrow, Monday, March 16, he will announce the second leg of the Gary The Torch Tour at 10:00 am ET.

Late last year, Wilson Jr. was nominated for his first-ever CMA Award for New Artist of the Year and made his performance debut on the broadcast with a moving rendition of "Stand By Me" and a duet with Shaboozey for their song "Took A Walk." Additionally, Variety published an extensive feature with him ahead of CMA Awards week and the release of "Gary," Fresh Air's rock critic Ken Tucker reviewed søn of dad on NPR, and SPIN highlighted Wilson Jr. in his first digital cover story, proclaiming, "He devises a gothic tableau of the Midwest, a fitting backdrop for his stories of loss, confusion, and perseverance. [søn of dad is] one of the darkest country records of the 2020s, but also one of the wiliest and one of the weirdest."

2026 Tour Dates
3/18: Boston, MA - Citizens House of Blues # SOLD OUT
3/21: Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Paramount # SOLD OUT
3/22: Port Chester, NY - The Capitol Theatre # SOLD OUT
3/25: Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore # SOLD OUT
3/28: Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore # SOLD OUT
4/11: Bossier City, LA - The Paradise Theater at Margaritaville Bossier City # SOLD OUT
4/15: St. Louis, MO - The Pageant # SOLD OUT
4/17: Kansas City, MO - The Midland Theatre # SOLD OUT
4/18: Denver, CO - Mission Ballroom # SOLD OUT
4/22: Omaha, NE - Steelhouse Omaha # SOLD OUT
4/24: Madison, WI - The Sylvee # SOLD OUT
4/25: Chicago, IL - The Salt Shed # SOLD OUT
6/6: Lexington, KY - Railbird Music Festival *
6/30: Dublin, IE - Summer Series
7/9-12: Winnipeg, MB - Winnipeg Folk Festival *
7/18: Whitefish, MT - Under the Big Sky Festival *
7/23: Check, VA - FloydFest *
9/4: George, WA - Gorge Amphitheater ^
9/11-13: Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre %
11/20-22: St. Petersburg, FL - St. Pete Country Fest *

* - Festival
# - Gary The Torch Tour
^ - supporting Dave Matthews Band
% - supporting Brandi Carlile