Mark Chesnutt‘s fans have been waiting a long time for his 15th studio album, Tradition Lives, but it's finally set for release on July 8 -- and, per readers' votes, the record is The Boot's July 2016 Album of the Month.

Chesnutt hasn't released an album of fully original material since 2010, so Tradition Lives is, unsurprisingly, highly anticipated. The artist's traditional honky-tonk sound shines on the 12-track record (complete with a bonus tribute to Merle Haggard), which was produced by Jimmy Ritchey.

A few years back, Jimmy Ritchey and I were at his home studio at about 2AM, talking about ‘the Hag’ and his influence on us, and we thought it would be nice to add this song to the album as a tribute to him and to Red Lane,” Chesnutt explains in a press release. “It’s just me with Jimmy on guitar. I hope fans enjoy it.”

Ritchey has produced several albums for Chesnutt since the mid-2000s, and the country star believes that the producer has been key to his success and signature sound.

He and I hooked up at a time when not a lot of people had a lot of faith in me anymore because I stayed ‘country’ when the industry was going the other way,” Chesnutt says of Ritchey. “I needed somebody like Jimmy who really believed in my kind of country music.”

Chesnutt recently revealed his "I've Got a Quarter in My Pocket" lyric video exclusively on The Boot. The song speaks of heartache with the familiar twang and melancholy found in traditional country heartsick songs.

A full track listing for Tradition Lives can be seen below. More information about Chesnutt, pre-order information and tour dates can be found on both Chesnutt’s webstore and website. And fans can check back to The Boot next week (July 4-8) for an exclusive interview with Chesnutt.

Mark Chesnutt, Tradition Lives Track Listing:

1. “I’ve Got a Quarter in My Pocket”
2. “Is It Still Cheating”
3. “Lonely Ain’t the Only Game in Town”
4. “Oughta Miss Me By Now”
5. “Neither Did I”
6. “So You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore”
7. “You Moved Up in Your World”
8. “Look at Me Now”
9. “Losing You All Over Again”
10. “Never Been to Texas”
11. “What I Heard”
12. “Hot”

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