Steve Earle and Reckless Kelly are back together with a new song, “Dead or Gone to Dallas,” and it’s got everything you’d expect from a matchup like this. Out now on all platforms, the track follows their first collab earlier this summer and proves lightning really can strike twice.

Written by Earle, the song moves with a groove that feels built for barrooms and backroads. The lyrics are wry, sharp and a little funny in that dark way only he can pull off. The hook? Everyone he knows is either “six feet under or packed up for Dallas.” It’s the kind of line that makes you smirk and nod at the same time.

“It’s just unapologetic country rock with a band behind me that knows how to do that,” Earle said. Willy Braun from Reckless Kelly couldn’t agree more by saying “As soon as I heard the demo, I thought, ‘yep, this is exactly the kind of song we grew up on.’”

It’s a perfect mix of Earle’s storyteller side and Reckless Kelly’s no-nonsense side. It kicks, it swings, and it doesn’t waste time dressing itself up. It’s just country rock done right.

The two acts recently wrapped a string of shows together, including the Calgary Folk Festival, and they’ll both be busy on the road this fall. For now, “Dead or Gone to Dallas” feels like a shot of Texas attitude bottled up in a three minute track

Photo credit: Boston Lynn Schulz