Kristen Budde Drives in a New Direction

Kristen Budde is a relatively new voice in country music. She released her debut single in 2022 and followed it up with an EP in 2023. Budde jumped into 2025 with a single in April, “Regret,” and now follows that up with “Drive,” a single that pursues a new musical direction.

Up until now, her music has had a mostly acoustic framework that has plotted a course through the mellower side of country or Americana.

“Drive” changes all that. Produced by multi-instrumentalist Nicole Witt, “Drive” assembles a tight band with a bigger, bolder sound that would be at home in the corner of rock and roll established by Sheryl Crow. Not that Budde especially sounds like Crow. Her voice still has a timbre that sits somewhere between Allison Krauss and Mary Chapin Carpenter, but “Drive” (which was co-written with Greg McFaden, Debbie Windly-Olson, Jan Bast, and Grace Watt Hunt) gives her plaintive melody and determined lyrics greater urgency.

Jimbo Hart and Justin Holder are in the engine room, keeping the pulse strong on bass and drums, respectively, and Grayson Wright on keyboards gives “Drive” an unobtrusive cushion to rest on. But the session’s MVP has to be Sol Philcox-Littlefield on electric guitar. Witt balances his haunting slide guitar and his thinner straight guitar sound on either side of Budde’s voice, where their comments deepen the song’s bench while leading you back to the melody.

The lyrical theme of getting out of town is nothing new, but Budde’s voice and change of musical direction make “Drive” a worthy addition to any road trip playlist.

Reviewed by Christopher Raley