Nashville Scene’s Country Music Almanac: Artists to Watch | Cover Stories

Every year, there’s a wealth of rising country talent that deserves your attention. To help you keep up, we’ve picked 10 artists who are heading into 2024 with excellent songs, outstanding voices and vital perspectives to share.

Autumn Nicholas

Autumn Nicholas hasn’t released a ton of recorded material yet, but everything they play leaves an impact when you hear it. And you had lots of opportunities to hear them around town last year, from the Love Rising benefit for LGBTQ rights organizations and the Together in Action benefit (that Nicholas co-organized) for anti-gun-violence group Moms Demand Action, from Bonnaroo to Nashville Pride Fest to opening at the Ryman for Jason Isbell. “Made Yet,” a ballad released in August, is about resisting the pressure to conform in a way that precious few country songs are — if you want to talk about pushing back against oppression and celebrating freedom, their work is a great place to start. STEPHEN TRAGESER

Charley Crockett

Singer-songwriter Charley Crockett has already hit the ground running in 2024. His sparkling duet with Willie Nelson, “That’s What Makes the World Go Around,” was released at midnight Jan. 1. Lyrically, its storyline about a young woman struggling to attain big-city riches without losing her small-town identity and sensibility is as traditional country as it gets, while the powerful vocals from both Crockett and Nelson — who still sounds strong at 90 — reinforce the tune’s authoritative edge and feel. The prolific Crockett, a fixture in country and Americana since 2015, has a dual musical consciousness that incorporates influences from both New Orleans and Texas. Hopefully, this is the year he finally gets the mainstream success more than justified by his talent. RON WYNN

Megan Moroney

Georgia native and University of Georgia grad Megan Moroney is an exciting kind of hitmaker. Her heartbreak songs showcase her twangy, lush voice and vulnerability, but she’s most entertaining while dishing bravado and sass on her 2023 album Lucky. With writing credits on every song on Lucky, she showcases her emotional intelligence, giving the impression that she’s the one who friends would go to in times of crisis. Moroney is cool and confident — I’d take advice from her. Lucky is an album with no skips, songs from which she’ll be showcasing on an impressive stadium tour opening for Kenny Chesney. JACQUELINE ZEISLOFT

Elvie Shane

Elvie Shane and producer Oscar Charles have a deft way with the country-to-rock synthesis on Shane’s 2021 breakthrough album Backslider. Shane grew up in Kentucky, and he and a brace of co-writers explore the limits of Southern identity — and Southern maleness — on Backslider tracks like “County Roads” and “Love, Cold Beer, Cheap Smoke,” which use Rolling Stones guitar licks and power-pop tricks to put his message across. Backslider comes with a built-in self-critique that suggests Shane could be the rare mainstream country artist who manages to be both commercial and hard-edged. He writes about the joys of being a stepfather in the song that brought him to the attention of the country audience, 2020’s hit single “My Boy,” and Backslider doesn’t falter even when Shane is at his most reflective, as on the post-Dan Fogelberg love song “Rocket Science.” Shane has a new album, Damascus, set for release April 19. EDD HURT

Brit Taylor

Last year, Brit Taylor emerged as one of the latest in a long line of six-string storytellers from Eastern Kentucky — a club that includes Patty Loveless, Chris Stapleton and Tom T. Hall, to name a few — to capture her corner of the world in country songs. Taylor released Kentucky Blue in early 2023, an album of foot-stomping romps and heart-stopping ballads co-produced by Grammy-winning artist Sturgill Simpson and Nashville studio ace David Ferguson. And she’s already doubling down on her Kentucky roots with “Saint Anthony,” a new single fully drenched in bluegrass influence, a preview of an upcoming LP she’s announced called Kentucky Bluegrassed. MATTHEW LEIMKUEHLER

Denitia

After several years in New York, Denitia returned to Nashville last year, bringing her gentle voice and songs that pull no punches. One standout in her jam-packed catalog is “I Want to Live,” a lilting tune about her desire to live and grow a family in peace and safety on her own terms — something that is far more complicated than it should be due to the creeping stain of racism on our culture. That song is from her 2022 LP Highways; while she released music videos for songs from that record through last summer, she put out a jaw-dropping cover of Garth Brooks’ “What She’s Doing Now” in December, setting the stage for a busy 2024. STEPHEN TRAGESER

Matthew Killough

Guitarist and singer Matthew Killough grew up in Georgia before moving to Denver, where he lived for 12 years. An adept of singers like Roscoe Holcomb, Townes Van Zandt and Incredible String Band guitarist Robin Williamson, Killough made the move to Nashville in 2018. Killough sings in a voice that registers as stone-cold country, which means he sounds both ancient and modern on his 2023 full-length Oh, Siloam. Killough’s precise style of guitar accompaniment supports an approach to songwriting that connects Killough to, say, Tyler Childers or Zach Bryan — Killough’s melodies are austere and deeply modal, and he explores how memories shape the present on the album’s “Calcimine Blue.” Oh, Siloam is progressive country that owes a debt to the groundbreaking ’60s and ’70s work of English folk-blues guitarists Bert Jansch and Nic Jones. Killough’s songs are subtly turned, and they have the potential to appeal to fans of thoughtful modern folk — not to mention country music itself. EDD HURT

Crystal Rose

Crystal Rose, who came to Nashville from Kansas City, is a dynamic performer who wowed Music City audiences throughout 2023. She brings a strong blues influence to songs like “Mad Black Woman,” a tune about being constantly judged and underestimated. That song impressed the crowd at the Black Opry Records launch party and was a runner-up in NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest. She’s making preparations for her debut LP — whether it arrives in 2024 or not, expect a lot more great music soon. STEPHEN TRAGESER

Charles Wesley Godwin

If you are the company you keep, then Charles Wesley Godwin’s doing prettygood. A country-folk singer who can spin a story that leaves listeners misty-eyed and asking for more — you know, the sad-songs-make-me-feel-good type — Godwin plans to spend much of 2024 on the road, headlining gigs between shows supporting some of the most sought-after singers holding court today, like Jason Isbell, Turnpike Troubadours and Luke Combs, as well as a spot on the Bonnaroo lineup. This comes after 2023, a year when Godwin inked a deal with heavy-hitting Nashville label Big Loud and headlined a two-night run at the Ryman Auditorium. Digging into his music for the first time? Spin Family Ties, his September LP. MATTHEW LEIMKUEHLER

She Returns From War

I saw a lot of benefit shows for good causes in 2023; sadly, the occasions were about raising money to act against a state legislature openly hostile to the LGBTQ community and unwilling to do much of anything about gun violence. There was a slew of great performances, but one of the most enthusiastic responses was at City Winery — to South Carolina songsmith She Returns From War, who sang fan favorite “Swamp Witch” unmiked with Fancy Hagood. Her November LP Ruthless features intensely vulnerable songs and pushes and stretches country in fascinating ways. STEPHEN TRAGESER