Charley Crockett Announces New Album ‘Age of the Ram’

Six months after releasing his last album, Charley Crockett is set to complete his Sagebrush Trilogy.

The prolific songwriter dropped “Kentucky Too Long” last Friday — a guitar-heavy lament, which builds upon the themes that the Texas crooner laid out over the past year. On Wednesday, Crockett announced the release of Age of the Ram, the third and final LP of the trilogy, due April 3. Like its trilogy companions, Age of the Ram was produced by Shooter Jennings at Sunset Sound Studio 3 in Los Angeles.

The project began with Lonesome Drifter in March 2025 and continued with the August release of Dollar a Day, which was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional Country Album category. Together, the records blend Western imagery and tales of survival with Crockett’s commentary on the state of country music and the industry demands that envelope his career. The 20-track Age of the Ram introduces a new character and storyline to round out the Sagebrush Trilogy, according to Crockett.

“Age of the Ram is the story of Billy McLane, a small-time cattle rustler who finds himself in the crosshairs of the Santa Fe ring,” Crockett explained in a statement, “pursued by bounty killers working for the shadow syndicate. Billy McLane escapes into the crazy mountains where the outlaw will become a legend.”

“Kentucky Too Long” finds him mulling over a stagnant life in Appalachia, at odds with authority and a world that seems to have passed him by. There are references to Vietnam and Uncle Sam, and a chorus of “Man, I can feel it coming on/I’ve been in Kentucky too long/I’ve been in

Kentucky/making something out of nothing too long,” backed by a guitar-forward melody and Crockett’s Texas drawl.

The references to Uncle Sam and Vietnam are timely ones for the outspoken Crockett. Earlier this month, he took to social media to share a lengthy, pointed objection to the presidency of Donald Trump, whom he called a “grifter,” and the political backlash against Bad Bunny’s performance at halftime of the 2026 Super Bowl. Crockett also contrasted the Grammy acceptance speeches of Bad Bunny and Jelly Roll and took aim at the likes of Elon Musk and Peter Thiel.

Crockett has an extended tour on the books in 2026. He’s in the Pacific Northwest next week, with two shows in Seattle, before a tour of Canada brings him back across North America for a series of shows on the East Coast — including stops in Boston and Tampa in early March. A Crockett-focused documentary, A Cowboy in London, premiered in February at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Josh Crutchmer is a journalist and author whose book (Almost) Almost Famous will be released April 1 via Back Lounge Publishing.