Jenny Tolman Will Be ‘Right Back’ — Or Maybe Not — In Her Swingin’ New Single [Exclusive Premiere]

Jenny Tolman makes her twangy, self-assured musical return with "Right Back," her first new release of 2023 and the first song she's put out since she and her producer husband Dave Brainard welcomed their son Bear back in January.

"'Right Back' felt like a great title to tell the world, 'I'm back!', with of course the classic, sassy storytelling twist that I love," Tolman says.

Tolman herself might be back, but the jury's still out on the character she plays in this song, who's stepping out for a quick run to the store — or a quick, freedom-reclaiming trip around the world — to get some space from a deadbeat husband who cares more about the game he's watching on TV than he does about whether she's happy.

That disinterest works in Tolman's favor in this case, since her husband probably wouldn't notice her absence even if she took an extended vacation.

"Knowing you, you won't even know I'm gone," she sings, realizing that she could probably "take a detour out to Tupelo" or even catch "that slow boat to China out of 'Frisco Bay" before he ever started wondering where she is.

"I like to joke that this is what would happen if my song 'I Know Some Cowboys' fell on deaf ears, since we have the girl leaving a seemingly deadbeat husband who did not, in fact, step it up," Tolman comments.

"Right Back" is the next logical step in a musical journey that Tolman has been plotting since her 2019 debut, There Goes the Neighborhood. That project first established her as a two-stepping, country traditionalist who weaves story songs from the lives of quirky, compelling and irrepressibly Southern characters.

She braided autobiography into that blend of imagination and humor with her next project, Married in a Honky Tonk, drawing from real-life growth like her marriage to Brainard and expanding family. Now, after a break from music during maternity leaving, Tolman says she's returning to work with a rejuvenated perspective and a brand new well of motivation.

"I think one of the coolest things about becoming a mom is that you lose so much ego in the process, which releases you of a lot of insecurities and just gives you so much more confidence," the singer reflects. "I also have a whole new motivation to be successful for him and show him that mama can do it. It definitely has brought some challenges, such as traveling on the road with a baby, but the blessing of such special memories are well worth any speed bump!"

Next up, Tolman is eyeing more new music to arrive later in the year, and she's also working towards her next dream: Playing the Grand Ole Opry.

"One of the big items on my wish list, especially being a Nashville native growing up going to the Opry, is a Grand Ole Opry debut," she says, "so we're working hard towards that!"