New Country Artists We’d Play for People Who Hate Modern Country

Kashus Culpepper has a huge Southern voice grounded in blues and gospel, which gives his country songs weight before the arrangements get involved.

The Red Clay Strays play like a hard-working bar band fronted by a soul singer, bringing heat and physical momentum back to country rock.

Sierra Ferrell draws on old-time country, jazz and folk, then adds enough carnival eccentricity to prevent the music from feeling like preservation work.

Zach Top's clear baritone and clean guitar lines recall 1990s country, but the songs are strong enough to survive the deliberate traditionalism.

Kaitlin Butts writes large, theatrical country songs without burying them under generic arena-rock production, and her voice can carry the drama.

Wyatt Flores leaves strain and uncertainty audible in his singing, giving his direct Oklahoma songwriting more feeling than polish.

S.G. Goodman writes sharply observed Kentucky songs with indie-rock edges, refusing both Nashville gloss and the costume of retro authenticity.

Noeline Hofmann's plainspoken ranch songs come from lived Alberta experience, with a dry voice that does not oversell the landscape.

Emily Nenni's honky-tonk sounds lived in rather than reenacted, helped by writing that understands barroom characters without romanticizing them.

Kassi Valazza lets her desert-country songs unfold slowly, using psychedelic guitar and patient storytelling instead of chasing a radio-sized chorus.