Hot Country Knights Land Uncanny Lainey Wilson Lookalike On Hilarious Duet

Hot Country Knights dropped an epic collaboration with an artist whose vocal stylings hold an uncanny similarity to award-winning Bell Bottom Country star Lainey Wilson. The 90s-influenced, tongue in cheek group — “tallying 33 mostly wasted years and countless bad decisions” — unleashed two new tracks to kick off the weekend on Friday (May 26).

“Well, we simply couldn’t make you wait any longer. Our new two pack Midnight Rodeo is out now featuring future 2x platinum song ’Herassmeant’ with Darla McFarland,” Hot Country Knights announced on their social media channels on Friday, along with a snippet of the collaboration. Lead vocalist Doug Douglason and his former hometown flame, McFarland, teased the duet earlier this week, predicting an iconic duo as they associated Doug and Darla with Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill and Brooks and Dunn.

“The Knights are back, baby,” Douglason exclaimed a press release issued on Friday. “Being off the road since the Big V (virus) has really made us reflect on what we had taken for granted. When you have a chance to really get to the core of what these songs are about, it’s just a raw appreciation for the most satisfying parts of life. I don’t expect anyone to get it on the first six or seven listens, this is deep thinking stuff."

Dierks Bentley couldn’t help but notice that Hot Country Knights are making a comeback with Midnight Rodeo, and wondered who McFarland is (and why she would team up with the band). The group will “be out on tour with me this summer, so you’ll be able to hear their new songs out on the road,” Bentley said as he gets ready to kick off his “Gravel & Gold Tour” in support of his 10th studio album that released earlier this year.

The Hot Country Knights — which also includes lead bass player Trevor Travis, lead guitarist Marty Ray ("Rayro") Roburn, keytar/fiddle player Terotej ("Terry") Dvoraczekynski, steel guitarist Barry Van Ricky and percussionist Monte Montgomery — teamed up with McFarland to tell a “wistful tale of unrequited love that’s creating whispers of GRAMMY nominations up and down the Music Row songwriting community,” reads the press release.

“Yeah, seems like everybody is talking about harassment these days and the Knights do not tolerate that stuff,” Douglason, who sounds similar to Bentley, said in the release. “You gotta treat your lady right, tell her how you feel about her, respect her, love on her. My old flame Darla McFarland, who most people will remember from Teazers down in Murfreesboro, was itching to sing on this one. She knew she was the inspiration, so how could we say no? Darla is the best damn country singer of the last three decades, in my opinion. Everybody better get down to Tower Records before the CDs are sold out.”

“Nothin’ hits better in country music than authenticity,” McFarland said in the release. "Seeing how I was the inspiration behind this song, I thought I’d help Doug make a good song great.”

Find Midnight Rodeo on iHeartRadio here, and listen to “Herassmeant” below.