Ben Gage flips the script with soulful country single “Lookin’ for a Devil”

If country music had a front porch and a bottle of something strong to sip, Ben Gage would be sitting right there with his guitar, telling stories that make you lean in and listen. His latest single, “Lookin’ for a Devil,” captures that spirit with grit, warmth, and a clever twist on a time-honored tale. “Lookin’ for a Devil” feels like it rolled straight out of a honky-tonk that time forgot. There’s a raw, old-school vibe running through every note, thanks to its patchwork of live-take recordings.

You can hear the breath between lines, the grind of strings, the unfiltered emotion that’s so often ironed out in today’s overproduced soundscapes. This is storytelling the way it used to be, organic, direct, and with just the right amount of soul-scuff. But where Gage makes his mark is in the song’s theme. “Lookin’ for a Devil” walks the familiar crossroads where legends say deals are struck in the dead of night. Except in Gage’s version, the devil doesn’t show up. And that’s where the song bites back with a kind of world-weary humor and poetic irony. It’s about the hollowness that can come when you’re desperate for something, and even the devil won’t take the bait.

Ben Gage’s voice, worn-in and authentic, guides us through this dusty trail of longing and disillusionment with the kind of conviction that can only come from someone who’s lived a few chapters of the story himself. In a time when country music is often polished to a shine and packaged for the mainstream, “Lookin’ for a Devil” feels like a rusted nail in the boot heel of the genre, true, and impossible to ignore. With this track, Gage rewrites it on his own terms. For fans of roots-driven storytelling and country that still kicks up some honest dirt, this one’s worth a long, thoughtful listen.