Per tradition, we invited journalists and scholars who focus on country music to share their takes on the present and future of the genre. Here is a sampling of their perspectives on topics from 2025’s best country releases to the changes they’d like to see in the industry (edited for length and clarity).
Respondents:
Bailey Brantingham: Nashville Scene
David Cantwell: co-founder and critic, No Fences Review
Rachel Cholst: Nashville Scene; No Depression; editor, Rainbow Rodeo
Bee Delores: The Bluegrass Situation, FLOOD Magazine
Steacy Easton: journalist; author; critic
Will Groff: The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork
Will Hermes: New Music + Old Music, NPR, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork
Joseph Hudak: editor and host of Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now
Edd Hurt: Nashville Scene, PopMatters, Chapter 16
Hunter Kelly: Nashville Scene, MS Now, Untethered Southerner
Matthew Leimkuehler: Nashville Scene; educator
Amanda Marie Martínez: assistant professor of American studies at UNC-Chapel Hill
Kelly McCartney: host of Record Bin Radio on Apple Music Country
Marissa R. Moss: journalist and author; co-founder, Don’t Rock the Inbox
Rissi Palmer: singer-songwriter; host, Color Me Country Radio on Apple Music Country; contributor, Whose Country Music? (Cambridge University Press)
Annie Parnell: audience editor, Nashville Scene; FLOOD Magazine
Chris Parton: Nashville Lifestyles, Nashville Scene, The Bluegrass Situation
Amos Perrine: Through the Lens columnist, No Depression
Bobbie Jean Sawyer: Nashville Scene, Texas Monthly, The Bluegrass Situation
Ron Wynn: Nashville Scene, Tennessee Tribune, The Bluegrass Situation, Rock and Blues Muse
Wednesday
What was your favorite country single and/or album released in 2025?
“Choosin’ Texas” by Ella Langley. Her twangy drawl mixed with the pedal steel is gonna get me every time. Also Jason Isbell’s Foxes in the Snow (if that counts as country). —Bailey Brantingham
As ever, “country” is a fluid concept. Wednesday, “Elderberry Wine” and Bleeds; Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band, “Monte Carlo / No Limits.” —Will Hermes
The Kentucky Gentlemen’s Rhinestone Revolution. This album was a joyful, accessible (in the best way possible) act of defiance in a year that was brutal for marginalized country artists. I’m grateful to the Campbell twins for staying the course and creating the inclusive, rhinestoned world they want to see. —Hunter Kelly
Amanda Shires’ Nobody’s Girl, Chaparelle’s Western Pleasure, Madeline Edwards’ Fruit, Margo Price’s Hard Headed Woman and Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives’ Space Junk were my tops in the country-leaning Americana space. Lots of other great releases fell more into the folk and rock categories for me. —Kelly McCartney
My favorite single was Chappell Roan’s “The Giver,” with its Shania-hits-the-club energy, and my favorite album was Kelsey Waldon’s Every Ghost. Together they point to the sonic country spectrum of my dreams. —David Cantwell
Either S.G. Goodman’s Planting by the Signs or Tyler Childers’ Snipe Hunter. I wrote about Childers’ latest tour for the Scene. Kentucky is having a moment. —Annie Parnell
“Way Too High (2010)” by Muscadine Bloodline. A “Time Marches On” for zillennials. —Will Groff
Jesse Welles, “Domestic Error.” On repeat, as loud as possible. —Matthew Leimkuehler
Carter Faith, Cherry Valley. —Amanda Marie Martínez, Bobbie Jean Sawyer
Ken Pomeroy, Cruel Joke. —Bobbie Jean Sawyer
Kirby, Miss Black America. —Steacy Easton
The Delines, Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom. —Edd Hurt
Rachel Brooke, Sings Sad Songs. —Amos Perrine
Treaty Oak Revival, West Texas Degenerate. —Chris Parton
Crys Matthews, Reclamation. —Bee Delores
Tyler Childers, Snipe Hunter; Ella Langley, “Choosin’ Texas.” —Marissa R. Moss
Margo Price, “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down”; Eric Church, Evangeline vs. the Machine. —Joseph Hudak
Cam, “Alchemy”; Madeline Edwards, Fruit. —Rissi Palmer
Shaboozey, “Good News”; Rodney Crowell, Airline Highway. —Ron Wynn
Anna Tivel, Animal Poem (Americana); Hailey Whitters, Corn Queen (mainstream country). —Rachel Cholst
What artist or new release disappointed you the most in 2025?
Jason Isbell’s commitment to his own cleverness, his kind of self-satisfaction. Also that Morgan Wallen still has a career. —Steacy Easton
Keith Urban. —Joseph Hudak
George Strait. —Chris Parton
I don’t know why we had to have two albums by Jesse Welles, or why so many respectable songwriters collaborated with him. —Rachel Cholst
I was disappointed in the amount of artists of color that were dropped from their labels in 2025. —Rissi Palmer
The continued “butt rock” influence of 2000s rock on mainstream country left me cold and feeling completely shut out of the party, which isn’t a bad thing. There are other parties going on in and around country music that don’t activate my fight-or-flight response. —Hunter Kelly
As a lover and defender of Megan Moroney — whom I’ve earnestly described as a “songwriter’s songwriter” — I felt despondent watching her performance at the 2025 CMAs. The vocals were the crux of the issue, but the awkward staging and overactive dancers didn’t do her any favors. Swiftian in all the wrong ways. —Will Groff
Morgan Wallen. Emblematic of trends and behavior that reflect the worst attitudes and attributes of both the music and some segments of its audience. —Ron Wynn
Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem. Wallen leaves a bad taste in my mouth in general, but this album was particularly mediocre with so much needless filler. Why is it two hours long? —Bailey Brantingham
Carter Faith
Who is one country artist you hope will make waves in 2026?
Ken Pomeroy’s album knocked me out and deserves more ears. Excellent writing, beautiful voice, and a keen perspective rooted in Native heritage. And respect to Carter Faith: smart, very funny, soulful, still in her 20s, hopefully unstoppable. —Will Hermes
Laci Kaye Booth’s 2024 album The Loneliest Girl in the World is one of my favorite country records of the past decade and she continued to stun me with her 2025 single “Luck of the Draw.” I can’t wait to hear more from her, and I’d love to see her get more mainstream recognition this year. —Bobbie Jean Sawyer
Kaitlin Butts. —Joseph Hudak, Marissa R. Moss
Sam Shackleton, Kirby, Sammy Arriaga. —Steacy Easton
Carter Faith. —Amanda Marie Martínez
Lillie Mae Rische. —Edd Hurt
William Beckmann. —Will Groff
Pynk Beard. —Rissi Palmer
Maggie Antone. —Matthew Leimkuehler
Mandi Sagal. —Bee Delores
Rachel Brooke. —Amos Perrine
Ole 60. —Chris Parton
I’m really rooting for Madeline Edwards to get a much bigger audience. Her independently released Fruit album is better than 99 percent of what Music Row is putting out. —Kelly McCartney
I don’t know if they’re cooking anything up right now, but I really hope Our Native Daughters return to the scene. We need them more than ever. —Rachel Cholst
I hope that Mickey Guyton finally gets the sustained attention and recognition she deserves as being a great country performer, period. Not that her trailblazing aspects should be downplayed or overlooked. —Ron Wynn
The Kentucky Gentlemen bring such convivial energy. I’m also keeping my fingers crossed for a new solo Sierra Ferrell drop in 2026. I miss her. —Bailey Brantingham
Adam Mac just dropped his second thoughtful and cheeky collection of country tunes, Southern Spectacle. It landed him a performance spot on The Kelly Clarkson Show and a mention as Billboard’s Country Rookie of the Month. I’m hopeful Adam continues to grow his audience in the new year. —Hunter Kelly
All too predictable that a mainstream country-singing Black woman, let alone one who’s Canadian, wouldn’t get any radio play. But Sacha’s Woman in the Mirror album could’ve gone several hit singles deep, if only. I sure hope more people check her out going forward. —David Cantwell
Rebecca Porter! She released her debut album Roll With the Punches this year, and I love her take on classic country. —Annie Parnell
Sammy Arriaga
What’s one story in the country music world that deserves more attention next year?
An AI single topped the country digital sales chart, yet it hardly got any serious attention, let alone appropriate condemnation, as far as I could tell. So much for authenticity. —David Cantwell
The way that AI is going to affect not only artists, but writers and producers — and how it will increase the disparities for women and people of color in the genre while exploiting their sound. —Rissi Palmer
The use of AI, especially in the writers’ room. —Joseph Hudak
The use of AI at any level should be banned in music, and we should talk about that. —Kelly McCartney
How the industry will respond to changing technology, changing audience expectations as the Trump era wanes, and how it will respond to AI. —Edd Hurt
The cost of everything. Concert tickets, of course, but also the cost of a new vinyl LP or a new band tee. Also, the expenses that sometimes come with a show-going experience — parking, food, hotel and anything else you may need in order to spend a night singing your favorite songs at a big show. Fandom shouldn’t require you to get a second job. —Matthew Leimkuehler
William Beckmann as a songwriter and vocalist. —Amanda Marie Martínez
Country crossovers: country soul, country rock, country pop. —Will Hermes
YEEDM. —Will Groff
That nothing has actually changed in terms of representation for women on country radio — there are some surface signs that make it look better than it is. —Marissa R. Moss
Marginalized artists have always struggled to get a piece of the pie on Music Row, but those opportunities are getting even slimmer. I’d love for someone to quantify ways in which this is actually happening. On the other hand, artists in Nashville and beyond work so hard to support each other, and I think the Scene should turn a big magnifying glass on the ways artists organize themselves — politically, artistically or both. —Rachel Cholst
The folks who move to Nashville hoping to make it, and do so on the margins — just enough to keep the dream alive. —Amos Perrine
Recorded-music revenues are huge again, back on par with the glory days of the ’90s, and with far less expensive physical packaging and distribution. Yet young artists are still signing “360 deals,” which were originally intended to offset label losses on file sharing in the 2000s. Do they feel it’s worth the trade? —Chris Parton
I feel like a broken record, but I’d love to see more attention given to queer country artists like The Kentucky Gentlemen, Denitia, Adam Mac, Fancy Hagood and Chris Housman. They continue to create inventive, incisive country music in the face of DEI rollbacks and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and laws reaching fever pitch during Trump 2.0. It was so encouraging to see them all continue on in this hellscape of a year. —Hunter Kelly
That Black country artists are legitimate and important parts of the total country music industry. And that if given ample opportunity and support they can be hitmakers and success stories like any other artists. —Ron Wynn
The indie-rock press has been all over the recent wave of noisy, rootsy rock bands like Wednesday and Florry. But that hasn’t gotten any attention in country publications. I’d love to see someone dissect what’s going on there from a country perspective. —Annie Parnell
I think that the grind is wearing on people. It is impossible to make a living as a writer or as a musician, and the endless touring, the merch-hawking and the begging that makes a career — the dependence on parasociality and the rapacious nature of fandom — makes people less healthy. There are also no middle- or long-term creators. Any attempts that people have made to accurately consider the history of the genre have been complete failures, and in terms of radio play, for example, the genre is still too white, too male, too straight and too middle-class. There is still great music being made in the spaces not recognized by the mainstream. But talking to other critics who have been writing about the genre for decades, we have lists of musicians who we think would have broken through; they never do. I’m thinking of Sammy Arriaga and Freddy Fender, and about the complete lack of progress in the years between their careers. Or about how we treat Zach Top compared to how we treat Hailey Whitters. But I spent a lot of time listening to centuries-old folk music this year. We have figured it out before, and we will figure it out again, I just don’t know how. —Steacy Easton
Tyler Childers
If you could instantly change one thing related to the country music business, what would it be?
I am at the point in my career where I am all “serenity prayer” on all these motherfuckers. —Steacy Easton
Less dependence on calcified commercial radio programming, and more mainstream shine on indie artists like Kelsey Waldon, Florry, Ken Pomeroy, Hailey Whitters, Case Oats, Ryan Davis, Wednesday, Waxahatchee, etc. —Will Hermes
Less infighting about authenticity and claims to “outlaw” country. It’s all so boring! —Amanda Marie Martínez
More room on the radio for different types of country music. —Joseph Hudak
Giving independently produced music radio airplay. —Amos Perrine
There’s a lot of things I’d change. A small one is that I’d love to stop hearing about Morgan Wallen. —Annie Parnell
This isn’t exclusive to country music, but I’ve been workshopping a silly take for years, so I guess I’ll share it here: Live music should be indoors, period. I’m tired of getting rained on at shows, guys. —Matthew Leimkuehler
I would loosen the stranglehold of corporate radio and consultants on what type of songs and what artists get exposure and airplay. You shouldn’t have to go to satellite or specialty stations to get thematic and content diversity in the songs that make it onto commercial country radio playlists. —Ron Wynn
Country music is a microcosm for the country, writ large. And the modest progress we made in diversity and inclusion a few years ago didn’t hold up because it was largely performative. Until we willingly and collectively dig into the roots of that systemic problem, that’s always going to be the case on both the micro and macro levels. —Kelly McCartney
The fan mindset that a country artist speaking out against current political injustice automatically contradicts their blue-collar narratives. —Bailey Brantingham
More opportunities given to queer artists and Black artists. —Bee Delores
Well, after genie-blinking away all of the genre’s racial, gender and generational fences, I’d say it sure would be great if our music biz-related world could allow a wide array of music journalists and critics to, you know, earn a living. —David Cantwell
I would watch what is happening in the country soul/Southern soul space if I were an executive in country music. There is a whole subgenre developing on its own that would absolutely THRIVE if there were marketing resources dedicated. Money is literally being left on the table. —Rissi Palmer
The big labels have so much money. Why not take more risks? What does it matter if your McKinsey-mandated year-over-year growth doesn’t work out? You still have your mansion, right? —Rachel Cholst
The influence of Americana and folk and classic country wouldn’t be completely cut off from mainstream country music. I’d never see Kid Rock or Nickelback on the lineup for a country music festival again. That’s two things, but they go hand in hand. —Hunter Kelly
If someone could Men in Black our global memory of social media, that would be great. Imagine the possibilities. Also, I’m ready for the mustache to phase out again. —Chris Parton
Jelly Roll retirement? —Will Groff
Talking ‘Cruel Joke’ with Ken Pomeroy, speaking with the founders of the Country Latin Association and more
