2026 Songwriter of the Year - Midwest Country Music Awards

2026 Album of the Year "Make Country Sad Again" - Wisconsin Area Music Industry

Hagen's music is a heartfelt ode to the timeless dance between joy and sorrow wrapped in the faded splendor of a bygone era. His performances are like vintage postcards, each one a snapshot of a wistful journey through a land where the echoes of heartache linger in the dusty corners of forgotten jukeboxes.

Make Country Sad Again is Eric Hagen leaning into the kind of country music that values songwriting over image and honesty over polish. Rooted in classic honky-tonk, country rock, and Americana, the album mixes sharp storytelling with a worn-in sound built around pedal steel, telecasters, and live-room energy. The songs focus on flawed people, complicated relationships, small-town restlessness, and the tension between tradition and modern country culture. Rather than chasing trends, Make Country Sad Again feels grounded in the spirit of the records that inspired it — direct, human, and unafraid to sit with uncomfortable emotions.

“Make Country Sad Again” was listed as one of anticipated albums of 2025 by Saving Country Music.