LuckySky Music’s flagship artist, Tori Martin, just released a hard-hitting single charged with direct, but supportive honesty. The anthemic “Quit” doesn’t pull punches. Its message is resolute: when life gets tough, you get tougher. No bemoaning circumstances or citing obstacles; just get after it and get it done.

Country star Tori Martin’s climb to CMA Fest 2026

Tori Martin was born strong, resilient, and able to adapt to persevere. She was a military brat who bounced around the country for the first 7 years of her life. After settling in Azle, Texas, Tori found joy singing in the local church choir. Her Paw-Paw introduced her to the greats, everyone from Cash to Wynette. By 14, the burgeoning country star was already performing at Opry houses across Texas.

Because of her remarkable talent, in 2014, Renegade Radio Nashville named Tori one of the “New Faces of Country.” After competing on American Idol, she moved to Nashville and began writing with legendary songwriters. When she met Bill Warner (Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton) at a mixer, the two began working together, and she signed to LuckySky Music.

Since signing, Tori has affirmed her artistry by releasing a steady stream of finely crafted songs performed with uncompromising virtuosity. Some of Tori’s most notable releases include “What Would Dolly Do?,” “Abilene,” “​​Last Night In Laredo,” and her grand country opus, “Cowgirls Ride.” Tori’s consistent high-quality releases have elevated her to a level of success many artists can only dream of reaching. Just a few short weeks ago, Tori did her first CMA Fest. Then, on June 5, smack dab in the middle of the world’s longest-running and largest country music festival, she released “Quit.” The song is a powerful testament to what can happen when you are raised to never cut and run.

How Country Star Tori Martin Wrote Summer 2026’s Anthemic Single ‘Quit’

If you didn’t get to meet Tori at CMA Fest 2026 and you have yet to see her perform live, she’s a genuine blossom of sparkles. Tori makes you feel warm and alive with her radiant southern charisma. Entertaining Options recently had the pleasure of speaking with this gifted artist about her career, her songwriting, and her current single.

It’s been a couple of weeks, are you still hyped from CMA Fest 2026? 

Oh yeah, for sure. Oh, my goodness! I literally was thinking this morning, “Wow, I survived. I did all that.”

Which was more important to you: performing or signing autographs? 

You know, I really loved the signing. It was my first year to ever do it, and it was just a really cool process, going through the whole back side of CMA. It was really cool. Then, just meeting fans, you know, the people who showed up and were like, “I’m excited that you’re signing!” It was just so cool to connect. Lots of great opportunities came from it. I had a blast. That was probably my favorite part. 

So many things have happened and are happening for you. What are you most looking forward to doing as your career continues to grow? 

There’s so much, but I think my biggest goal right now is I really am itching to get out my record. I was talking about it with my husband last night. The last album that I put out was in 2019, right before I signed with LuckySky. I am so overdue for getting my record out. We’ve done a lot of single releases, and that’s been so much fun. But I really am wanting to have that body of work. We’ve been working on stuff for so long at this point, and we want it to be great, just so good and fully encapsulating who I am. So that’s my biggest goal right now. But other goals? I want to play the Grand Ole Opry, and down here in Texas, I’d love to play Billy Bob’s Texas one time. That’s the largest honky-tonk in the world. I’d love to play the C2C festival. There are so many cool things on my list. But honestly, anytime I get to step on stage, it’s a dream come true. I’m living out my dream.

This one’s not fair… Which do you feel closer to: Texas or Tennessee? 

Oh man, that’s such a loaded question, but I love both. I mean, I obviously consider Texas home because so many of my family members live here, so it’s always nice to come here. And I say home is where the doggies are, and my doggies are at my house in Texas. But also, I love Tennessee. I lived there for quite a few years, and I still go back and forth. I’ve always had stars in my eyes for Nashville, but the whole state of Tennessee is absolutely beautiful. I definitely feel at home when I’m there too. So I don’t know. I’m in between. I love both.

You’re not going to commit and say you’re choosin’ Texas? 

I see what you did there. 

How does it go when you’re in a writing session? Do you work on the lyrics first? The melody? Everything at the same time?

Honestly, each song is a little bit different. There are some songs that I haven’t released yet that I’ve literally been in a writing session and we didn’t even pick up a guitar, we were just beating on the kitchen table coming up with a melody and lyrics. It’s so funny because my producer would be like, “Oh boy, thanks a lot.” And I’m like, “Well, we’ve got to figure out these chords now.”

Each song is so unique and different. “Cowgirls Ride” was one that we didn’t even have all the chords to. We just had the idea, and we were just singing it, and like I said, beating a beat on the kitchen table. It was like, “This is craziness!” But then it just evolved, and it turned into such a cinematic, picturesque type of song. So I’m always open to that. 

Tori Martin from “Cowgirls Ride” video.

There were other versions of “Cowgirls Ride?!”

There were definitely different versions of it. It evolved, and it just got cooler and so much fun. But definitely, in the beginning, when we were first writing it, we were like, “Whoa, what is this? We’ve got to write this. This is so cool!”

The songs you’ve released over the past year or so have all been incredible. Do you have a favorite memory of writing any of them?

Ooh, so many of them for sure. I think “Abilene” is definitely one of my favorites that I’ve ever written and have been a part of because we wrote that song in the car. We got the idea while driving down the road, and when we got to our Airbnb, we put it to music. And I don’t know, it just felt special from that day. But anytime I play that song out, there’s something special about it. Even if it’s in a bar where maybe people aren’t paying that much attention, there’s something about that song. I start singing it and they’re like, “Whoa, you had me at Abilene. That song is something.” And I’m like, “Thank you.”

I hear that about “Cowgirls Ride” too. I love it because a lot of guys like that song. It’s very [much about] female empowerment, but a lot of men tell me, “That song is so good.” I’m like, “Aww, thanks so much.” It’s just so much fun. And then obviously, “Quit.” That one has really been resonating with people right now, too.

That’s because it has such a universal appeal and such a strong message. “Quit” is an uplifting song. It’s inspiring. It helps you to keep going, no matter where you are in life or what you do.

Yes, and that truly was the intent behind it. Obviously, for me personally, the song was about my journey with music and not giving up, and staying the course. But overall, it’s for all walks of life. It’s for life. I mean, life has been hard and heavy for so many people right now. And it would be so easy to throw in the towel. I know that at some point in our lives, everybody has felt that in some way, in some regard. So it’s honestly just inspiration to keep going, stay the course and keep the faith. Don’t quit. Because a bad day doesn’t mean a bad life, and tomorrow might be the best day of your life. You just have to keep showing up to find out.

That’s true. There are so many times you wake up the next day and even if everything hasn’t changed, you might just have a different perspective.

Absolutely. And it’s looking for the small things. It’s like, man, my coffee was hitting this morning. It was so good. Or, I saw a cardinal and maybe it was somebody from heaven talking to me? It’s the universe saying, “Keep going. Keep the faith.”

“Don’t quit. Because a bad day doesn’t mean a bad life…”

Tori Martin

Do you notice those signs a lot? Little things that are messages of hope to you? 

What was really cool and kind of the lead up to “Quit” is that in the last few months, I have been noticing a cardinal that’s been hanging around a lot. So I was like, “Ooh, ooh, okay, that means something. Maybe it’s my Paw-Paw in heaven, blessing it?”

Focusing on “Quit,” was there a breaking point, something that made you want to quit music? Was that the initial inspiration for the song?

No, the inspiration for the song was actually from Kirsti Manna; she’s a co-writer on it. She went to an event and heard a story about HARDY. He was playing at a bar, and you know how people might send a note saying, “Play ‘Free Bird.’ Here’s a 20.” Basically, they told him, “You need to quit. You’re no good.” She was inspired by that. You know, it’s just tough to keep going sometimes as an independent artist on an independent label. We’re a small team and we don’t always have all the financing in the world. It’s very grassroots and bootstrapping. It was kind of a season like that for our company. Bill DiLuigi wrote on it too, with me and Kirsti. So it really was an anthem for ourselves, to encourage ourselves. But it was inspired by how people can be like that: “You should quit. You’re no good.” But you can’t let people get to you like that. You’ve got to believe in yourself and stay true and just keep going.

There are times when things may not pan out how you were hoping, but I’ve never really felt that feeling like I’m going to absolutely quit. I’ve always been a pretty determined person. When I was little, I was like, “No, I’m gonna be persistent.” I still feel like I am. But there, of course, are times when you’re discouraged or down. It’s like, “Man, I wish that would have panned out differently.” But I do try to look at the brighter side and see that this happened because of that, so I got to keep going. Just one little thing can keep me going, so I look for those moments throughout my career and my life. 

Is there someone that you turn to when life gets too much for you? Someone who’s got your back?

It probably would be my husband, Jason, that I would lean on the most. Unfortunately, my dogs don’t talk back to me [laughing], but they can listen to me. Just kidding. But dogs definitely are intuitive emotionally, so they kind of comfort you. 

True.

My dogs are so sweet. But in the second verse of the song, it made me think of if I could talk to my Paw-Paw, because he’s passed and he’s in heaven. When it says, “At the grocery store/If they ask about me/I know you’ll say I’m setting the world on fire,” It just made me think of him because that is so something he would do. If I called and was like, “Paw-Paw, it’s been a bad day. It’s been tough times.” He’d be like, “She is doing it! She’s setting the world on fire.” So, I think of him. He’s definitely the person I could call on a tough day. That’s who I would have called if I could. 

That’s such a sweet sentiment. You’ve been so gracious with your time. Is there anything that’s important to you that I haven’t touched on? Something you want to make sure that we cover? 

No, it’s mainly “Quit” right now. The release is so new and so fresh. I’m just encouraging people to go stream it, maybe share it with a friend who might need to hear that message, and add it to your favorite playlist. That helps so much as an independent artist. 

Why Tori Martin’s 2026 country single ‘Quit’ is so great

Tori Martin’s track record is impressive. Her songs flow from a long-carved river of classic country tradition that quenches the need for sincerity. She can etch a moment into forever with the warmth of her nostalgia-drenched melodies. But there’s something extra about her latest single, “Quit.” It’s not tethered to the southern lifestyle. It’s bigger than country. The universal message driving the song is timely and vital, giving it the potential for a breakout hit that crosses genres.

“Quit” is a phone call to that one person who gets you. It’s about the need to share the obstacles keeping you from your goals, to say them out loud and make them tangible. But the voice on the other end isn’t sympathetic. It’s a tough love reality check reminding you that if you truly want it, it’s your responsibility to make it happen.

Tori Martin is the modern soul of traditional country music. The twangy guitars on her latest single kneel in support of her dusty vocals. Her voice is a Texas sunset, filled with the comforting majesty of vibrant colors and breathtaking range. “Quit” is a triumph of spirit and sentiment that encourages hope and faith in tomorrow. 

How to stream and support country music’s Tori Martin

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