Cherry Valley is the debut studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Carter Faith. It was produced by Tofer Brown and released on October 3, 2025, via MCA Nashville. The project's title references a fictional place that signifies Faith's creative home, and was inspired by a road sign she saw while on tour. The songs span Faith’s journey from her North Carolina hometown to Nashville. Cherry Valley was featured on several "best of 2025" lists. It was nominated for Album of the Year at the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards, making Faith the first artist in over ten years to be nominated for the award with their debut album (following Chris Stapleton's Traveller in 2015).
Background Discussing the title, Faith expressed that "Cherry Valley" is a town that exists in her imagination where she could process her emotions and turn them into songs that were primarily inspired by the work of Lana Del Rey, Kacey Musgraves, and Taylor Swift. Speaking on her songwriting process, Faith stated, "I would write songs, and some of them would live in Cherry Valley and some of them didn’t, it was just this fantastical dreamland that I created in my head, and I wanted my songs to live in that world too. I love the drama. I wanted them all to feel like they could fit in that very weird, Alice in Wonderland world." In an interview with Rolling Stone, she selected "Six String", "Misery Loves Company", "Betty", "Changed", and "Sails" as some of her favorite tracks from the album.
Faith announced the album on June 27, 2025, with an accompanying statement.
Promotion and release
Singles "If I Had Never Lost My Mind..." was released as the album lead single on February 21, 2025. It was followed by a second single titled, "Grudge" which was released on April 11, 2025. The album third single "Sex, Drugs & Country Music" was released on June 27, 2025, the same day of the album announcement.
A fourth single, "Bar Star" was released on July 25, 2025. "Arrow (Die For That Man)" served as the album fifth and final single on September 5, 2025, before the album release.
Cherry Valley Forever In 2026, Faith announced that the album will be reissued as Cherry Valley Forever, which will include five new songs, and its expected to be released on July 24, 2026. To promote the reissue two singles were released: "Ain't Over Me Yet" was released on May 15, 2026, and "Nothin' Better To Do" on June 26, 2026, the latter featuring country singer Wyatt Flores.
Reception Cherry Valley was ranked at number three on Billboard'''s "10 Best Country Albums of 2025" list, with Jessica Nicholson writing, "with her debut album Cherry Valley'', gifted singer and songwriter Faith proves she more than knows her way around crafting a resplendent melody and an attention-grabbing lyric. She finds a soul-healing trinity in “Sex, Drugs and Country Music,” and then dives headfirst into honkytonk grit, capturing the essence of a heady romance with a small-town “Bar Star.” Elsewhere, she leans into elements of smooth countrypolitan, while her dynamic, polished vocal gives powerful ballads such as “If I Had Never Lost My Mind” an ethereal elegance. Overall, this marks an impressive, impactful debut that should give anyone plenty of faith in her career’s longevity".
Accolades +List of awards and nominationsYearAwardCategoryResult2026Academy of Country Music AwardsAlbum of the Year
Year-end lists +Critics' rankingsPublicationYearListRankBillboard2025The 10 Best Country Albums of 20253Country UniverseThe 40 Best Country Albums of 20252Holler.CountryThe Best Country Music Albums of 20254Rolling StoneThe 25 Best Country and Americana Albums of 20252The 100 Best Albums of 202518StereogumThe 10 Best Country Albums of 2025Whiskey RiffThe Best Debut Country Albums of 20251The 40 Best Country Albums of 202515
Track listing
Personnel Credits adapted from Tidal.
Tofer Brown - production, piano, backing vocals, mellotron, bass, organ Alicia Enstrom - violin Carter Faith - vocals Billy Justineau - keyboard, mellotron, organ, wurlitzer, electric piano Annaleise Kowert - violin Betsy Lamb - viola Jordan Lehning - string arrangements Todd Lombardo - acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo Tony Lucido - bass Rob Mcnelley - electric guitar Claire Indie Nunn - cello Russ Pahl - pedal steel Emily Rodgers - cello Aaron Sterling - drums, percussion Kristin Weber - violin
Charts + Chart performance for Cherry Valley Chart (2026) Peakposition
References