Best Rising Country Artists Right Now: 10 Musicians You Need To Hear

9: Wesko

It’s always refreshing when a proper blue-collar country artist emerges on the scene. Make no mistake, Kenansville songwriter Wesko is the real deal: slogging his heart out along the riverbanks of North Carolina, working for a construction firm specialising in soil erosion, his songwriting has a refreshingly authentic and unpretentious edge. Doffing his Stetson to country-rock pioneer Neil Young and pop-punk legends Green Day and My Chemical Romance, Wesko ensures his rough-hewn acoustic balladry is weary and weatherworn on songs such as Lost Boys, while he polishes his working-man’s blues into a turquoise gem on Dreamer. Just listen to him sing, and you’ll hang on every word.

Must hear: Dreamer

8: The Castellows

Like The Chicks and The Highwomen before them, The Castellows are an all-girl country-pop trio. Formed in Georgetown, Georgia, by sisters Ellie, Powell and Lily Balkcom, the group’s banjo-plucking breed of neo-traditional roots music is hypnotically retro, enriched by angelic harmonies and dreamy fiddles. Initially making their name by sharing cover versions on TikTok, The Castellows caught the ear of Sheryl Crow producer Trina Shoemaker, who manned the boards for the group’s debut EP, A Little Goes A Long Way. You only need to listen to the bluegrass boogie of Heartline Hill and the blustery cover of Leon Everette’s Hurricane to recognise that The Castellows are something special among today’s best rising country artists.

Must hear: Hurricane

7: Austin Snell

Snaking around swampy, buzzsaw guitar hooks and anguished vocals, the former US Air Force veteran Austin Snell is a tough cookie. Inspired by post-grungers Nickelback and weaponising dark lyrics born from the trauma of having spinal surgery to remove a tumour, Snell’s angst-ridden style makes him a dead cert among the best rising country artists for bringing a touch of alt-rock to the Americana scene. “It’s mainly rock music,” Snell told Country Swag of his musical influences, “and it’s got that country lyric. When I was starting to write music, I was listening to everything. I was listening to rap music, too.” Blowing up on TikTok thanks to his single Excuse The Mess, Snell could well be on the verge of sparking a “grunge-country” takeover in the not-too-distant future.

Must hear: Excuse The Mess

6: Matt Schuster

One of the best rising country artists of the moment, Illinois native Matt Schuster has much in common with Wesley Schultz of indie-folksters The Lumineers. Unlike those Ho Hey hitmakers, however, Schuster not only wears his country influences on his sleeve, but he also eschews melancholy for a bright, energetic sound shining with optimism. Fresh from issuing the country-pop single Tell Me Tennessee, Schuster has mastered a high-roller fusion of classic-rock zeal and good-time vibes that brings an old-school flavour of country music back into the pop-rock mainstream.

Must hear: Tell Me Tennessee

5: Avery Anna

Raised in Flagstaff, Arizona, 20-year-old singer-songwriter Avery Anna has a great deal of fun combining country guitar hooks with upbeat pop melodies. Not since Sheryl Crow has an artist like Anna caused this much of a stir, aided by an ability to bare her soul over rootsy tunes that veer from steel-guitar mournfulness (Vanilla) to rambunctious country-rock outbursts (Make It Look Easy). Anna’s debut album, Breakup Over Breakfast, has catapulted her into the upper echelons of this list of the best rising country artists, indicating that the genre’s renaissance on the US charts is unlikely to stop any time soon.

Must hear: Make It Look Easy

4: Pecos And The Rooftops

With gritty lyrics about rural down-and-outs, Texan rockers Pecos And The Rooftops come across like a postmodern band of outlaw country rebels. Rumbling through the speakers thanks to singer Pecos Hurley’s drawn-out baritone, their highly polished blasts of drive-time rock erupt into guitar-heavy choruses thicker than a Lone Star State heatwave. Giving 70s Southern rock a touch of psychedelia, Pecos And The Rooftops rank among the best rising country artists to prove that the ragtag spirit of rock music is alive and kicking in modern country.

Must hear: 5AM

3: Redferrin

Raised in the same Tennessee backyard as Jack Daniel’s famous Old No.7 whiskey, Blake Redferrin is on the rocks and ready to roll, thanks to the success of his viral hit, Jack And Diet Coke. Drawing as much influence from hip-hop superstars such as Drake and Post Malone as he does from country greats Alan Jackson and Don Williams, Redferrin creates a heady mixture of speedy vocal flows, twangy guitars and rap-inspired swagger that makes him a true breath of fresh air among today’s best rising country artists. “At first it really confused some people,” he said on the Gypsy Tales podcast, “because they’re like, ‘That’s not a rock song, that’s country,’ and, ‘That’s not a country song, it’s a rock song,’ and, ‘That’s not neither, he’s rapping.’” Caring little for the way things used to be done, he added: “Everybody’s kind of blending now.”

Must hear: Jack And Diet Coke

2: Chase Matthew

Support act of choice for chart-conquering titans such as Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean, Chase Matthew has come straight from the heart of Sevierville, Tennessee, to serve up happy-hour anthems about small-town life. Soaking his music in the kind of bro-country choruses that have enabled his hit single County Line to go platinum (122 million Spotify streams and counting), Matthew has said, “It’s one thing to see the numbers, see the likes and comments and follows and stuff on social media, but to actually see it translate into real people and hear them sing the music back, it’s crazy, man.”

Must hear: County Line

1: Dasha

Making line dances cool again, the 24-year-old Nashville singer-songwriter Dasha is a bona-fide superstar in the making, largely thanks to the boot-stomping country-pop of her breakout hit, Austin, which peaked at No.19 on the US Hot 100. Propelling herself to TikTok stardom in the blink of an eye, Dasha grew up listening to singer-songwriters such as Kacey Musgraves and Taylor Swift, before streamlining a fresh sound of her very own that mixes fiddle-flaunting folk-pop with satiny production values. Well-poised to be at the forefront of the new Nashville sound, Dasha deservedly tops our list of the best rising country artists right now.

Must hear: Austin

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