Where the Cowboys Ride and the Bridges Burn: Jo Dee Messina Returns

Jo Dee Messina has lived through a decade of storms, loss, struggle, and sickness that could have broken someone without something holy to hold onto. But she held onto her music. She held onto her children, and she held onto her faith.

Those anchors shape Bridges, out June 5, 2026, a collection born from ten years of fighting, learning, and leaning on God through every season.

“It's not about a full transformation,” Messina says. “It’s about what I’ve gone through and how I’ve gotten through it, and I’m not done living yet.”

Now, at a turning point in her life and career, Messina steps into a new chapter with the same grit that earned her nine No. 1 hits, 16 Top 40 singles, and the respect of generations of artists. From Lainey Wilson’s CMA shoutout to Cole Swindell’s ode to “Heads Carolina,” her influence is undeniable, but Bridges reveals the woman behind the legacy.

Grab a beverage and enjoy our conversation with Messina.

SI: The album title Bridges carries so much emotional weight. We’re always told “don’t burn your bridges,” but you’ve flipped that idea into something so deeply personal and freeing. Aside from the last decade of your life, how did the concept for this album come together?

JDM: “Man, well, you really said it. It’s all about life perspective. We were sitting there talking about bridges, and someone said, ‘Oh yeah, but we don’t want to burn that bridge.’ And I stopped and thought, wait a minute, what if some bridges are meant to burn?

What if that bridge leads you back to harm, or abuse, or destruction, or a job that sucks the life out of you, or anything that pulls you away from who God created you to be?

Maybe sometimes the healthiest thing you can do is burn that bridge. Maybe you’re not supposed to go back. You don’t want to go back. You don’t need to go back.”

SI: One of the most powerful songs on the album is “Some Bridges.” The words are such a vivid visual. In the video, you are standing there with the matches in your hand, choosing whether to go back or move forward. What does that song mean to you?

JDM: Well, thank you. That song is, that song, it is emotional in the sense of, like, it's felt very deeply. You know, it's coming to the crossroads of what are you going to do? Are you going to walk forward or are you going to go back? And it's like, no, I'm worth more. You're finding yourself having to make a choice for you. Especially being women, we always make choices for other people, like what's best for the kids, what's best for the family, what's best for the whatever. At some point, you got to put your own oxygen mask on, you know.

SI: “Where the Cowboys Ride” feels like an anthem. You joked that Broadway in Nashville is full of people dressed like cowboys who’ve never gotten their hands dirty. Is that what inspired that song?

JDM: It’s a spoof on Broadway, where everyone dresses like a cowboy, but a lot of them have never lived that life. I want to know where the real cowboys are, where your word is your word, where family comes first, where the things that matter really matter. Not how you look or how you dress. Those new Tecovas have no dirt on their soles. I think a dirty, wore out pair of cowboy boots are sexier than the ones with the shine on them.

Jo Dee Messina tour poster. — Jo Dee Messina tour | Jo Dee Messina

SI: “Let Me Love You” has a different emotional tone. What’s the story behind that one?

JDM: “Okay, you’re going to get it as soon as I tell you. I originally started writing that song when my son was 15. He had just started high school, he was getting into a little trouble, kids were giving him a hard time, and I could tell something was wrong.

I kept saying, Buddy, you’ve got to let me in. You’ve got to remember I know who you are. I’ve known you since the day you were born. I could see he was trying to hide behind this curtain, pretending everything was fine, I’m good, I’m okay, everything’s great.

And I just wanted to say, If you would step out from behind that curtain and be honest, and let me walk with you through whatever this is, I promise I will love you. I won’t leave you. I won’t forsake you. I will walk with you every single step of the way if you just let me love you.

So, when we got into the writer’s room, I realized… this is exactly what God says to us. When we sat in the writer's room with that, I was like, my gosh, this is what God is saying to us. Would you let go of hurt you've been holding, your dreams lost, hope that was stolen? If I walk with you where you go, will you let me love you? If you knew how much that you mattered and I hold the dreams that shattered, it's always been you that I'm after. Would you let me love you? I was like, that is our Father. But God. Let me hold the pieces.

Someone told me about 3 weeks ago, and it was so amazing. They're like, Jody, you've broken into 100 pieces, but God has a place for every piece. He has a place for his glory and every piece. The single mom struggles, you can show his glory to other single moms. The broken heartedness, you know, you can show his glory in your broken heartedness. You can show his glory in your, you know, fear of abusive situations. You can show his glory. Like he has a purpose for every piece.

SI: You mentioned your ministry, Broom Tree Haven. Can you share more about that?

JDM: Yes. It’s called Broom Tree Haven. We're looking for land right now. It comes from the story of Elijah being chased by Jezebel. He just prays to God. He's like, I'm done. Like, I have no strength left. I can't do this anymore. So, he goes and he rests under the broom tree. He says, take me, take my life. I have nothing left to give.

So, he falls asleep under the broom tree, and the angel of the Lord wakes him up and says, eat, drink. So, he eats, he has a loaf of bread, he drinks and then he goes back to sleep. Then the angel of the Lord shows up again and says, eat, drink. Then the angel of the Lord took care of him under that tree until he was strong enough to get back up and go back out on his own, to walk on his own and do what God has called him to do.

That's the premise of my ministry is, not counseling, just a peaceful place to be still and let God restore you.

I don't know if you saw it recently, there was another announcement from a country artist, abruptly stepped away and said he was taking a pause from touring and music, and needed to focus on his mental health.

So, someone like that, I would say, come out to the ministry. Because the ministry is structured in a way, it's not counseling, it's not anything. It really is just peace where you can get back to being still and know who you are. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit just does his work and God gets his children back because they're lost in the insanity of the fast pace of the world.

That's my biggest desire. That is like, we have records coming out and yeah, we want to be successful. But I'm okay if we're not, we're just aiming for ways to facilitate the ministry. Like, how are we going to pay for it and lock down the land? How are we going to make connections with people who need the ministry? That's the driving force behind everything that we're doing right now.

SI: “Can Anybody” is the current single. What inspired that song?

JDM: “Can Anybody See Me’ was inspired by a teenager who told me, ‘I just feel invisible in my own home. I feel like my parents don’t hear a single thing I say.’

That broke my heart and that feeling is exactly what the song is about. Wanting to be seen. Wanting to be heard. Wanting someone to notice you.”

SI: You launched your own label, Dream Bound Records. What does that represent for you?

JDM: Honestly, it’s not glamorous. I needed a label to release music, and I didn’t want to sign a deal right now. My touring company is Dream Bound Enterprises, and my publishing is Dream Bound Songs, so Dream Bound Records fit naturally. I picked the name when I was just starting out in my 20s because I was “dream‑bound and headed towards my dreams.”

SI: Looking back at 19‑year‑old Jody arriving in Nashville, could she ever have imagined this chapter, the success, the independence, and the longevity?

JDM: “Well, it’s interesting, you say 30 years, but when I sit with my management team, we all feel like we’re starting fresh. It’s like launching a brand‑new career. We’re taking all the steps a new artist would take, and honestly, it’s exciting.

We have an entirely new team, and we recently signed with CAA (Creative Artists Agency), which is huge. And the wild part is, they came looking for me.

That’s exactly what we wanted: a team of people who truly love the project, who appreciate the work, and who are genuinely excited. We’re a real team. When something good happens, everybody celebrates, from management, my publicist, the booking agent, everyone’s cheering each other on.

It’s amazing to be surrounded by people all pulling in the same direction, all rooting for you. That’s rare in this business, because usually people are focused on their own position, their own spotlight.

But as the leader of this team, I don’t think I’m ‘cool.’ I’m just grateful. I say it all the time, if we get something, how amazing would that be? But if we don’t, we’re still fine. I’m content with where we are and excited about what’s ahead.”

SI: You’ve got a big tour coming up. How will this one compare to past tours?

JDM: “We’re still working out all the details of what the show will look like. It’s honestly hard to fit everything in with all these new songs plus the ones you absolutely have to play. You’ve got to do ‘Heads Carolina,’ ‘Bye Bye,’ ‘I’m Alright,’ ‘Lesson in Leavin’,’ ‘Stand Beside Me,’ ‘Bring on the Rain’… once you start adding all of those in, the night gets long, my friend. The night gets long.

So, we’re still shaping what the show actually becomes, but it’s a good problem to have, having so many songs people want to hear.

As far as something people may not know or something I haven’t been asked… I don’t know that such a thing exists anymore. I’ve talked to so many people over the years. There’s no big secret.

My heart in all of this is for the Lord. That’s really it.”

SI: What’s the message you hope listeners take from this album?

JDM: “I hope that when people listen to this album, they feel seen and not alone. So many of these songs come from that place — like you said, those moments where you think, ‘Oh my gosh, you were in my head.” You were talking about exactly what I’m going through.’

When we walk through hard things, we feel isolated. We feel like nobody understands. But that’s not true, that’s exactly what Satan wants you to believe. He wants to isolate you, because once he isolates you, he can convince you of anything.

You’re not alone. You’re not abandoned. You are deeply loved and deeply seen.

Even in our post today about ‘Can Anybody,’ we referenced Genesis 16:13, the God who sees. That’s the truth we’re leaning into with this album: you are seen, you are loved, and you are never walking through any of this by yourself.”

https://jodeemessina.com/

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