Aniston Pate is Kickin’ It with her brand new release
By Alan Shipston for Country Music News International Magazine
A single acoustic guitar opens Kickin’ It with a lick that sounds partly country and partly bluegrass until the rhythm section lays down the law with a strong section of players digging in to the song. Aniston Pate enters the first verse with a truckload of sass and grit, ready to leave everything she’s got on this record. Her Texas drawl and commanding voice is on display as she snarls,
If it’s a smoke, I’m rippin’ it
If it’s a mason jar, I’m sippin’ it
If it’s a tank, I’m fillin’ it
To drive to the dive in back
This is the first single from Aniston’s upcoming 2026 EP. With its sharp storytelling, Kickin’ It explains what a modern country girl has to do to believe in herself. “I ain’t calling on you, like you thought I’d do,” Pate wails in the chorus as the band slams into the chord progression with freight train authority. Produced and co-written by CMA Award winner, Rob Williford and Grammy winner, Aaron Ratiere, Kickin’ It will be available everywhere on January 16th.
Aniston Pate is from Dalhart, Texas and since moving to Nashville in 2021, she has released her debut EP Keystone Cowboy, as well as many singles. This musical juggernaut received a Golden Ticket to Hollywood during a 2024 appearance on American Idol, performing her original song Hummin’bird, which she penned for her mother. Pate is a recent Belmont University grad, ending her college experience with a win at the university’s iconic, Country Showcase. She has recently earned success with several releases including, Honky Tonk Without a Woman.
In 2023, Sony Music Publishing Nashville signed this rising singer-songwriter to a global publishing agreement. Vice President and Creative A&R, Tom Luteran said, “Aniston is a true unicorn as an artist. When Emily Carignan first played me her music I was intrigued and when I met her, I was hooked – we both can’t wait for the rest of the world to hear this budding superstar.” In a Braden Simmons interview, Pate offered this, “I’ve played dive bar after dive bar after dive bar and just kind of cut my teeth and I think that that’s how I got to where I am now.” Her work ethic, instilled in her from summers at her stepdad’s farm, translated to her approach when it came to songwriting and performing. “I think the best thing somebody can say about me is that I’m hard-working and I think that I learned how to work hard through working on the farm with my dad.”
Aniston’s music is influenced by Texas Red Dirt country artists like Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, Wade Bowen, and Randy Rogers. As she continues to find her way through the music industry maze, Aniston Pate is sure to make a lot of commotion along the way.