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With 'Chess,' Country Duo Honey County Offers A Searing Testament To Girl Power

Honey County's Dani Rose (left) and Sofie Lynn (right). (Photo: MediaNews Group/The Riverside Press-Enterprise via Getty Images via Getty Images)
Honey County's Dani Rose (left) and Sofie Lynn (right). (Photo: MediaNews Group/The Riverside Press-Enterprise via Getty Images via Getty Images)

As 2021 winds to a close, Honey County’s Sofie Lynn and Dani Rose are continuing their music industry rise.

On Friday, the Nashville duo unveiled their latest single, “Chess.” The new track is set to get a major boost later this month when it appears on the Paramount series “Yellowstone,” which stars Kevin Costner.

Speaking to HuffPost, Lynn said she got the inspiration for “Chess” after witnessing a bar brawl in California shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. “I just got caught in the crossfire — or the cross-fist, if you will — but it made for a great story and it made for a great song,” she said. “And so, here we are.”

Rose agreed, calling “Chess” an ode to female empowerment. “She didn’t intentionally try to be in the middle of this fight, she just happened to be in the middle sitting there,” she said. “So we were thinking, if a fight really broke out and somebody came at us, would we cower away? Obviously, we would stand our ground.”

Listen to “Chess” below.

“Chess” is Honey County’s fourth single this year. When it appears on the Dec. 26 episode of “Yellowstone,” it will also be the fourth time the series has featured one of their tracks.

Since teaming up as a duo in 2019, Lynn and Rose have made a distinct effort to create a larger space for women’s narratives in country music.

In April, the pair unveiled “Got It From My Mama,” a tribute to their mothers. And last month, they released a holiday-themed cover of “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” from the Disney film “Frozen,” which has won critical praise for emphasizing two female protagonists.

The women see their success thus far as indicative of the country genre gradually becoming more receptive to more diverse artists, and credited “Yellowstone” director Taylor Sheridan and music supervisor Andrea von Foerster with offering them a unique platform.

“If anyone’s ever underestimated you, this song’s for you,” Lynn (left) said of Honey County's new single,
“If anyone’s ever underestimated you, this song’s for you,” Lynn (left) said of Honey County's new single,

“I remember talking to Mickey Guyton just as ‘Black Like Me’ came out,” Rose recalled. “She was like, ‘I just had to put out there what I was feeling and I didn’t care what people thought about me when I put this out.’ And I said, ‘Girlfriend, roll with it because it’s great.’”

“A Grammy nomination later, and things really changed for her over this past year,” Rose said. “So she’s definitely been the role model that we’re all looking towards saying, ‘She can do it, so can we.’”

Though they are light on specifics, Lynn and Rose said they expect to unveil new music throughout the early months of 2022. A music video for “Got It From My Mama” is also in the works, with a release tentatively set for May in honor of Mother’s Day.

Citing the Allman Brothers and Bonnie Raitt as influences, the duo hopes “Chess” encourages fans to “put their best foot forward” no matter what challenges they face.

“If anyone’s ever underestimated you, this song’s for you,” Rose said.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

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