As much as the first-year class of country music this year showed up and showed out, some of the scene’s best moments came in tiny tidbits. Assortments of soundbites and sweet singles that were enough to keep you rabidly refreshing in anticipation, either built by 30 seconds or three minutes of previous exposure.
In an attempt to lay the groundwork for the who’s who of 2026 in the country, I put together a shortlist of artists who are beaming with promise yet have offered little real exposure to the extent of their talent. Acts with preferably one or even no full-length albums to their name, but are already or will hopefully be demanding as much attention as their influences with full catalogs by this time next year.
Solon Holt
We’ll get the obvious one out of the way first. Ever since he released his first, soul-driven single in “Make Me Wonder,” the buzz around the newest gospel bread wunderkind out of Texas has been palpable. With only three original tracks to his name, two of which are produced by Anderson East, 2026 is shaping up to be a real sink-or-swim moment for Holt’s career. In his gravelly, gritty yet earnest demeanor, there’s a singularity that’s yet to be fully explored while feeling like it’s clawing its way to stardom. With the breadth of Holt’s influence, his current catalog ranging from soft-pop to Americana lite, there’s a mixture of sounds that’s palatable and palpable enough to win over country’s biggest fans and staunchest skeptics all in one breath.
Lance Roark
For a guy who had a hand in some of Red Dirt’s most notable moments of the 2020s, there was a commendable amount of pause and preparation given by Lance Roark and his debut LP, Bad Reputation, released back in November. The record itself is an earnest ode to his mentors and hometown heroes, the Turnpike Troubadours, in its sharp focus amidst a storm of southern rock sensibilities. With his name peppered throughout notable catalogs and tours for the past few years, it felt like the moment was inevitable, even if unexpected by so many. Having written with Turnpike and Muscadine Bloodline, starring supporting circuits for alt-minded acts with a more traditional backbone, a lot of those early career kinks have been ironed out before a full freshman effort ever hit the shelves. Roark spent his early days in the game learning from the best, and the distinction between mentor and peer might not be as defined as previously imagined.
Benny G
Maybe one of the freshest faces to grace Nashville stages and writers’ rooms, the Long Island native is immediately making waves as a viral sensation and a budding recording artist with his first few tracks. It’s not hard to see why, either; his songwriting sensibilities are in line with the genre’s new, sappy freshman class, but his timbre is reminiscent of those big, booming voices that can feel every ounce of angst and anguish in their dramatic leaps and jumps. It’s gutsy, guttural, a tenor that trembles with weight but never overtakes its standard surroundings. The town is already privy to his prowess, with the singer steeped in those circles and now with a Whiskey Jam debut under his belt. It’s only a matter of time before that virality turns into tangible tenacity.
Tyce Delk
It’s rare to find that balance between true, traditional Western swing and a voice that insists on its own innovation without effort. But that’s exactly what you find in Tyce Delk, the New Mexico native who had his “low dance song of the year” bid shoot up to a million streams in less than a week over the summer. The skeleton of Delk’s discography is undoubtedly rooted in something studied, while his temperament is doing everything to pull those feelings forward in time rather than push an audience deeper into the comforts and familiarity of the jukebox. Where Chris Stapleton and Brandon Laine feel plucked out of bygone eras, Delk’s triumphant tenor booms in rhythm with the present day, packaging those old school feelings in a new school coating.
Chaparelle
As artists continue to lay claim to smaller patches of decade-defining territory, it’s comforting to see the mid-60s slow-dance era get its moment from an up-and-coming group drenched in that vintage gold. Evoking that weepy sway of a crackling Patsy Cline record, or an early-stage and plucky Loretta Lynn, this duo hailing from Texas doesn’t shy away from its history. It embraces it as a noir retelling of classic tropes that have permeated country music for decades, stripping them down to the bare essentials and draping a surrealist undertone over their dark, dreamy mixes. They’re simultaneously telling kitschy tales of the old days and providing meta takes on modernizing archaic sounds. It’s a band that’s biggest pull is in revealing pieces of itself that feel forgotten in time, refreshingly rediscovered in the here and now.
Noeline Hofmann
There’s a wide open female space for the kind of rodeo rowdiness Noeline Hoffman likes to sink her teeth into, and the accessibility and appetite for the jukebox jubilee she’s primed to present. Aside from her obvious, slam-dunk co-signs from Zach Bryan and Dylan Gossett, Hoffman’s earned herself a pretty prominent name in her home country, now the winner of a Canadian Country Music Association award and a close confidant of the region’s most relished name in Colter Wall. She’s the favorite artist of a lot of our current top dogs, and for good reason. Hoffman’s 2024 LP, Purple Gas, is a spunky, self-assured effort that speaks to an artist with resilience and a resolute attitude toward her potential. With a new full-length studio project rumored to be in the works, and an expected swath of support from her main stage fanboys, it’s hard to see a world where Hoffman’s spellbinding voice and electrifying atmosphere don’t break containment in more mainstream conversations sooner rather than later.
The Creekers
“Tennessee” might have been the most understated viral sensation in the country-sphere in 2025. It wasn’t because the Creekers had any immediately noticeable shortcomings in their snippet, but purely because of how fresh and seamless their first firework into the sky felt amidst the other stars of the game. You get hints of the Steeldrivers if they were settled in modernity, or the whispers of a more melodically inclined Billy Strings from the six-piece that’s tough to shake once those first few bars hit the ear. Recently signing to Warner Music Nashville, and with labels increasingly lending time and resources to acts with a knack for sneaking onto algorithms, there’s a bit of a silver lining in the new normal of country music found here. The most traditionally-minded tribe in the camp is taking advantage of what the digital age can offer. That marriage of philosophies might push the genre forward in really interesting ways.
Maggie Antone
She’s everything that sells well regarding women in today’s modern country landscape: spirited, confident, yet never too cocky to tell her listeners about the time she fell flat on her face at the Skinny Dennis. Maggie Antone is a great continuation of Nashville’s new normal in the female sector. In tune with her roots, whether that’s Tonya Tucker or Taylor Swift, she is weaving through moments and emotions that are complicated and nuanced in a way that feels long overdue. She’s got a drawl that can cover John Prine with ease and a stage presence that’s pretty in tune with a lot of the leading ladies on Broadway. Conveniently releasing her newest, long-awaited single “The Devil’s Not In Hell” right at the year’s close, that momentum and an anticipated future LP could push Antone closer to main stages as the 2026 crawls along.
Trippp
That rock-heavy rotation re-centers itself under the guise of Trippp, a three-piece family band hailing from rural Arkansas. While their releases have been sporadic for the past few years, the trio most recently debuted “The Devil Makes Three” in December. It’s the kind of song you get when you combine Nashville-style songwriting with accompaniment that wants to be as far from the crowd as possible. Loud, unapologetic but never too reckless to forget how to rein itself in in time for JD Stafford’s belting baritone to drop a few bombs in the chorus. Consistency is key for the trio, who have the talent to take them the distance if enough steam is applied.
Zach Meadows
A little more roots-driven than most of these picks, there’s something infectious about the way Zach Meadows attacks his craft. Above all else, he’s an American storyteller, grinding into rock-heavy rhythms before flipping over to a more Americana approach with total ease. His versatility is partially where the potential lies. When I saw Zach open for Braxton Keith back in February, it was striking how groove-heavy much of his yet-to-grace-streaming sound was. A more self-serious Brent Cobb with bits of Zach Bryan’s gruff exterior parceled in between downstrokes, the waiting game with Meadows is sure to pay off whenever he’s ready to take that next step.
