Tyler Childers has announced his sixth studio album: Rustin’ in the Rain arrives September 8 (via Hickman Holler/RCA). The new LP follows Childers’ 2022 triple album, Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?, which he recorded with his longtime band the Food Stamps. Today (July 27), Childers has released Rustin’ in the Rain’s lead single, “In Your Love,” along with an emotional music video directed by Bryan Schlam. Check it out below.
“This is a collection of songs I playfully pieced together as if I was pitching a group of songs to Elvis,” Childers said of his new album in a press release. “Some covers, one co-write, and some I even wrote in my best (terrible) Elvis impersonation, as I worked around the farm and kicked around the house. I hope you enjoy listening to this album as much as I enjoyed creating it. Thank you. Thank you very much.”
The video for “In Your Love” features creative direction from Silas House, who wrote the script for the visual. House is a New York Times bestselling author, the current Poet Laureate of Kentucky (Childers’ home state), and recipient of the 2022 Duggins Prize—the largest award for LGBTQ+ writers in the country. Jason Kyle Howard also worked with House on the story, which follows two men, played by Colton Haynes and James Scully, as they navigate their life as lovers in 1950s rural Appalachia.
“As a gay teenager who loved country music, I could have never imagined seeing myself in a video,” House said of the clip for “In Your Love.” “That visibility matters. There have always been LGBTQ people in rural places and finally we’re seeing that portrayed in a country music video.” House added:
Tyler and I both felt the attention to detail about rural life was very important, so we made sure that the house and the people looked realistic for the time period instead of the stereotypes of country people that have become so ingrained in the public consciousness. We used our own family pictures as references. We wanted to tell as complex a story as we could in four minutes, not only about a gay couple, but also about rural people. We wanted to show their joy and their sorrow—all the things that make up a complex life. Too often simplistic notions are pushed about both rural and LGBTQ people, so we did everything we could to make this story as rich and layered as possible.