10 Country and Americana Artists You Need to Know

It's time for another of our monthly roundups of the 10 Country and Americana Artists You Need to Know.

This month, we've got a queer country trio from Austin, Texas, whose rich three-part harmonies are enough to cause a total protonic reversal, a pop country queen all the way from Australia blowing up with her viral country cover versions and a 28-year-old country crooner from Del Rio in Texas throwing it back to the neo-traditionalists of the '80s.

There's all this and more as we dive into another of Holler's monthly roundups of our latest loves; a who's who of the most exciting prospects to begin leaving their mark on the country and Americana landscape.

Here's Holler's 10 New and Upcoming Country and Americana Artists You Need to Know for May 2025:

If all else fails, just leave it all to chance. Sometimes the best things happen by it. Austin, Texas-based, powerhouse trio, Next of Kin, formed almost accidentally in March 2023 when a twist of fate brought Lili, Madison, and Caelin together in a makeshift recording studio in East Austin to sing on a song called 'Jekyll and Hyde,' originally intended for Lili Hickman’s solo project.

"The sound of our three voices together was something we couldn’t ignore," the band shared. "It was from that moment that we decided we had to pursue this sound and feeling seriously."

'Jekyll and Hyde' went on to be Next of Kin's debut single in September 2024 and now it's the opener for their just released 5-track Homemaker EP, where it joins previous singles, 'Mean Streak' and the title track, along with two new songs.

“To create with two people and create a world with no previous experience of writing together or singing together has been beautiful," Lili says. "You would think it would be challenging, and there’s been small growing pains, but overall, it’s been effortless."

"Each of us come from different backgrounds," the band explained about how their different musical personalities fuse together in Next of Kin. "Lili was born and raised in Austin, TX, Madison comes from a small East Texas town named Canton and Caelin hails from the San Francisco Bay Area. Being working musicians in Austin, TX we found ourselves going to each other's shows for our separate projects and quickly became fans of each other's work."

Their perfectly blended, heart melting three-part harmonies and powerful, deeply relatable songwriting brings to mind The Highwomen or the recent Plains collaboration between Jess Williamson and Waxahatchee. There’s something about the way their voices fuse into each other that creates a power surge as almighty and otherworldly as the Ghostbusters going full stream and crossing their proton beams.

"The Homemaker EP really feels like a homecoming album," they share. "It deals with heartbreak, yearning, and growth, things the three of us all faced while creating something so entirely new. It’s for anyone who has felt the need to break from the mold and start the journey of being honest with themselves."

"We’re bringing an alternative twist to Country," they explain about their unique queer country perspective. "Paying homage to the intricate harmonies of The Chicks. We like to say we take the o out of country and are bringing music to country fans who may not have been able to align themselves with the genre in the past."

The Homemaker EP is out now. Catch them at Kerrville and Austin City Limits Festival in 2025.

Listen If You Like: The Highwomen, Plains, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt

"A little bit of 60's and 70's country with a modern facelift and a western backbone," is how Sam Stoane describes her strikingly contemporary take on classic country folk. It's a sound that puts her right up there alongside artists like Tyler Childers, Colter Wall and Noeline Hofmann, who are all quietly reimagining authentic western and folk music for a country loving audience that's grown tired of Nashville's mainstream.

"The West holds so much rich history and excitement when it comes to western and cowboy heritage," she says about growing up in Southern California, listening to Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and Johnny Cash, as well as a little rap and reggae along the way. "I grew up riding and working with horses from a very young age and that stuck with me my entire life. I think the passion of where I am from and growing up in the saddle, getting my hands dirty, and spending time working with animals has made such a heavy impact on not only my music but who I am to my core. My sound is truly shaped by who I am, what I come from, and what I am passionate about."

Sam Stoane's sepia tinged Country & Western is cut through with a wistful melancholy and a light dusting of grit that feels both reassuringly classic and invigoratingly fresh at the same time. Steel guitar, fiddle and mandolin blending warmly together with an effortless cool that country could do with having a whole lot more of, as Stoane takes in all the existential wonder of America.

It was Stoane's voice that lit up 'Right Love, Wrong Time' on Leon Majcen's Better Days earlier this year and now, with her highly anticipated forthcoming album Tales of the Dark West due out this month, she's stepping forward to take her place on the podium as one of Americana's most exciting and energising contemporary voices.

"Tales of the Dark West really was inspired by track 12, 'Dead Man's Alley', which paints a lot of imagery and thick storytelling," Stoane says. "After we wrote that, I really wanted to weave a story combined of where I come from out west and the unique history that entails, while also putting emphasis on the classics that inspired me and my sound. I wrote on all of these tracks with the exception of the Intro which was done by Pat Lyons, and the two covers, 'Back in the Saddle Again' and 'Even Cowgirls Get The Blues.' I love to take a song and make it my own, I think that says a lot about an artist, and that was my main goal with bringing those two in; to create something familiar but new with my stamp on it. This record is really a strong introduction to who I am, what my sound is, and what I have to say. Whether you grew up in the saddle or not, there should be something that feels relatable or familiar for everyone who listens."

Tales of the Dark West is released on Cloverdale Records on 23 May

Listen If You Like: Noeline Hoffman, Tyler Childers, Lily Fitts

"Probably writing songs about my future ex-girlfriend," reads Dawson Anderson's Instagram bio hilariously, and probably quite accurately. Previously making up one third (and then one half) of Temecula Road with sisters Emma and Maddie Salute, since striking out on his own, Dawson Anderson's stock-in-trade have been impassioned, take-no-prisoners anthems of heartbreak.

The weathered sensitivity and raw intimacy of songs like 'Yours for the Breaking,' 'Lonely Round Me' and 'Break It Like That' is rooted in the soul-searching storytelling of the country greats with a voice that's never afraid to get fired up and go full throttle.

Born in Raleigh, North Carolina and raised in Temecula, California, Dawson Anderson made his first trip to Nashville when he was 15 years old, with the dream of signing a record deal. That dream soon became a reality, when he signed his first record deal with Temecula Road. Dawson quickly dove into songwriting, making frequent trips back and forth to Music City while finishing high school, and eventually made the full time move to Nashville in 2019.

Dawson stepped out on his own for the first time with his debut solo single 'Hearts and Horses' in June of last year and he's been slowly gathering momentum with a string of singles that culminated in the 6-track Yours for the Breaking EP in October 2024.

Now, with his first new music of 2025, the 25-year-old is stepping it up a gear with the recently released 'Category 6,' a simmering country power ballad about chasing down a tempestuous, ill-fated relationship that showcases the raw power of Dawson Anderson when he's down on his luck.

'Category 6' is out now via EMPIRE

Listen If You Like: Tyler Braden, Warren Zeiders, Dylan Scott

We first heard Sydney Quiseng when her softly soulful vocal made Tyler Braden's 'Try Losing One' even more heart wrenching. Something we didn't even think was possible.

Two years on and a string of classy pop country gems have placed the 28-year-old singer from the suburban dairy town of Chino in South California at the brink of becoming the next big pop country crossover.

From forming a band with her brothers at age nine and writing the triple-platinum-hit 'Cool Kids' to touring the world with Echosmith at 16 and getting married at 21, Sydney Quiseng (pronounced Key-Sang) has already achieved more than most, but now she's stepping it up on her own with her first solo project.

"We lived in a coastal town and that’s when I absolutely fell in love with the beach," Quiseng explains about her sun soaked soft country pop sound. "California’s nature - sunshine, wildflowers, sunsets on the ocean - have been a huge inspiration for me in my songwriting. Every flower and sunset has brought me a little closer to myself and that journey has inspired my music so much."

Cut from the same cloth as recent Daniel Tashian produced albums from Overcoats and Lola Kirke, as well as Kacey Musgraves' Golden Hour, with their breezy pop hooks and Quiseng's breathy, melancholy vocals, songs like 'Phases' and recent single 'I Need Findin'' feel like getting a big, sad comforting hug from an old friend in these dark days.

"I love steel guitar from Hawaii, the warmth of acoustics in Nashville, the coastal feel of California and the natural sound of just playing with a band, like I grew up doing with my family. My solo music feels like the perfect blend of all my favorite things." she says about a sound she describes as "Coastal Country."

Her latest single, 'Leftover Coffee' ups the energy and caffeinates her sound by adding a dash of Speak Now era Taylor Swift and a little hint of Dasha to the pot.

"'Leftover Coffee' is about the grind of life," she says about the song. "When you’re young and working hard, people years ahead of you will say, 'You’re doing great! Keep going and you’ll live your dream life one day soon.' I know it’s true but there’s a little part of me that rolls my eyes and thinks: easy for you to say when you’re already there and I’m sitting here drinking leftover coffee all because I wanted to save some money."

'Leftover Coffee' is released on 16 May

Listen If You Like: Kacey Musgraves, Carter Faith, Kelsea Ballerini

"I’ve heard people call me a crooner or an old soul, and I don’t mind that," says William Beckmann. "I’ll take it. I’ve always loved the way singers from back in the day approached a song - the phrasing, the way they could make a simple line cut deep. I try to keep some of that alive in what I do. I think there’s still a real hunger for that in country music. It’s not something you hear every day, but when you do, it sticks with you."

Hailing from the small border town of Del Rio in Texas, right on the edge of the Rio Grande, 28-year-old William Beckmann is drawn to things that have a storied life to them. Whether it's the old guitars he plays or the vintage typewriter he writes all his lyrics on, his songs feel like a throwback to the gentlemen of country that inspired him like George Strait, George Jones and Roy Orbison, as well as The Eagles, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty, and to the music that he grew up with in that Texas border town.

"It’s shaped just about everything in my life, especially when it comes to music," says Beckmann. "Growing up, we’d cross over into Acuña all the time - for dinner, groceries, dentist appointments and just regular day-to-day stuff. That kind of cross-cultural back-and-forth was normal for us. And there was always music."

Singing in both Spanish and English, Beckmann's songs feel like a throwback to '80s neo-traditionalists like Randy Travis and Lyle Lovett as he looks backwards to push things forwards, reinventing, reimagining and refreshing the past with a deep affection for his country forefathers.

"I was a little too young to really be part of those big street parties they used to throw where guys like Pat Green or the Randy Rogers Band would come through town, but I grew up hearing all about them," he says. "My parents would talk about those nights like they were magic. I think those stories kind of planted something in me early on. Mexican music was everywhere. I’ve always been drawn to those songs because just like country, they’re all about storytelling. Love, heartbreak, family, drinking... same themes, just a different language. It’s important to me to shine a light on that side of my culture. Those songs deserve to be heard, and I’m proud to help carry them forward."

'Game I Like To Play' is out now on Warner Nashville

Listen If You Like: Jon Pardi, Midland, Pug Johnson

"You totally made it your own" has become something of a TV talent show cliche over the years, but when it comes to Max Jackson's Little More Country Sessions EP, there's no other way to explain the miraculous transformation that household famous hits go through in her hands.

Reimagining Whitney Houston's '80s dancefloor filler 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' as a driving '90s pop country anthem and ABBA's 'Dancing Queen' as a down 'n' dirty honky tonker, Max Jackson's countrified cover versions are so inspired and far apart from the originals as to be almost unrecognisable. They need to be considered works of art in their own right.

Growing up in New South Wales, Australia, in the small town of Coonamble, with a population of just 2750, Max Jackson soaked up the sounds of supersized '90s and noughties country early on in life.

"Country music was a way of life out where I’m from," she says. Everyone listened to pretty much only country and my parents were big fans. So therefore raised me like that. They’d take me to any of the big Aussie touring acts shows when they would put our little town on their list! and also, storytelling and knowing people’s story is a big part of small-town life so I think that’s where my passion for writing songs really came from too. It really made me who I am in every way. Being so comfortable, knowing everyone, everyone knowing me. That really gave me the confidence to do things like singing from an early age."

Inspired by singers like Dolly Parton, Shania Twain, Lainey Wilson, Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves, Jackson became the 42nd winner of Toyota Star Maker - Australia’s most prestigious country music competition - and she found herself in the company of previous winners that include Keith Urban, Brad Cox and New Zealand’s Kaylee Bell.

Her 2023 single, 'Little More Country,' saw her fully pivot from pop into country and a string of energetic pop country gems like 'Hold My Horses' and 'Fixin' Things' followed over the next two years, right up until 'GRASS' in March of this year.

"It's big, fun, electric and real," she says. "I’m definitely drawn toward real sounds, real instruments but definitely love to make a statement with big guitars and lots of epic sounds like big crowd stomps, claps, group vocals.

Upscaling her small-town vignettes to stadium sized proportions, Max Jackson has so much crossover potential it's hard to imagine anyone who wouldn't succumb to her infectious hi-NRG pop country anthems.

"Name a big female artist in the '90s and 2000s and I probably know every single word," Max Jackson says, laughing, and we fully believe her. It won't be long before audiences all over the world are singing along to every single word of her own songs.

The Little More Country Sessions EP and 'GRASS' are out now

Listen If You Like: Mackenzie Carpenter, Megan Moroney, Shania Twain

With over 1.2 million followers on Facebook and over 500k on Instagram, there's a fair chance you will already be well aware of Kaylee Rose, but for the uninitiated she's one of our 10 Artists You Need to Know for May.

Known for making the kind of perfectly crafted pop country that Kelsea and Kacey built their empires on, Kaylee Rose has been dropping singles since as far back as 2019, but it's a run of releases in 2025 that has upped the ante for the singer who grew up in St. Augustine, Florida.

From the existential clap-along 'Therapy' to the disarmingly perky 'Cheating' and the brilliant 'Wishing the Worst For You,' Kaylee Rose has stepped up to the plate, bat swinging wildly, with some of this year's finest pop country singles.

"I always try to push the envelope and keep expanding my sound," she says. "I grew up listening to all kinds of music. I was obsessed with Johnny Cash, Shania Twain, and Britney Spears. That mix of classic country storytelling, powerhouse pop, and genre-bending creativity still inspires me today. I love writing lyrics that are relatable and honest - people often tell me there’s always a lesson in my songs. I aim to pair those messages with high-energy, catchy melodies that stick with you."

Recognised by Meta as one of their top creators, it's a formula that's clearly resonated with a growing army of fans, as she builds an online community to share every moment of her journey, but it's her old as time country storytelling that still sits at the heart of her songs.

"As an independent artist, Facebook has truly changed my life," Kaylee Rose says. "I’ve been able to grow a fan base of over a million people, and it’s given me a real platform for my music. I love the sense of community. Once people discover my music there, I can feel how invested they are in my journey. That makes sharing both the big and little moments even more meaningful."

'Wishing the Worst For You' is available now. 'Your Problem' is out on 23 May

Listen If You Like: Emily Zeck, Willow Avalon, Dasha

Having already been included in our Holler 25 New Artists for 2025, Noah Rinker will already be a familiar name to our regulars, but with his latest single, 'The Bend' having a real moment right now we thought we'd remind the weekend crowd about the 22-year-old singer-songwriter as he packs up his harmonica and heads out on the road with Dwight Yoakam and Wyatt Flores this summer.

Released last July, Rinker's debut major label EP, After Dark, was an unassuming mini masterpiece of roughly strummed intimate country folk that became a signpost for the next direction he'd be taking on a musical journey that began when he was just four years old; long before he'd quietly grabbed the outside world's attention, captivating online listeners with his intimate campfire performances of covers and originals set against the backdrop of the small town of Shaver Lake and the mountains of California where he grew up.

"You're giving people an escape out of whatever reality they're in, and you get to let them into your world," he says. "But it doesn't work if your world is fake; it only works if your world is authentic to you, and it's something novel. That's when I realized that me being from the mountains of California and living the life that I've lived is what sets me personally apart from the rest.”

It doesn't matter where you go in the world, no one ever makes a shepherd's pie that tastes quite like the shepherd's pie your mum makes, and Noah Rinker's songs feel like coming home to something you know and love. A simple, time-honoured recipe for some heartwarming, soul satisfying, home cooked country folk.

“I try to write a lot of everything outside when it's nice enough,” he says. “It's just usually me and a guitar, and I'll just play for a couple hours and figure out a riff. And if I'm being really honest, a lot of the writing just falls out when I'm mumbling. The best stuff that I feel like I've ever done has just blown right down from above and it's magically exactly what I wanted to say but I would have never said it that way but my subconscious just worded it perfectly.”

Filled with a wide-eyed charm and a quiet existential vulnerability, his songs have a strange softness that sets him apart from his peers. His latest single 'The Bend' builds on the buzz created by previous viral singles 'Save My Soul' and 'Red Bandana,' as he drops the pack and creates some distance between him and his bloke folk contemporaries.

'The Bend' is out now on Warner Records

Listen If You Like: Zach Bryan, Noah Kahan, Dylan Gossett

"I am trying to unlearn the concept of genres and let my music flow in whatever direction it wants to," says Brookyln-based indie folk singer Ava McCoy. "I love metal, Chicago footwork, gospel, '90s R&B groups, bluegrass, classic hip-hop, pop hits, everything. I find freedom in rejecting stylistic norms in my creative process and being loudly me."

Ava McCoy's songs are proof that to be loudly yourself you don't have to split any ears. Switching between the kind of effortlessly cool, country tinged power pop of Courtney Barnett on songs like 'More Than a Friend' and the hushed folk of songs like 'Dragonfly' with its soft, lightness of touch, Ava McCoy is destined to be Americana's next big breakthrough artist.

Born and raised in Manhattan, between the Upper West and Upper East side, her parents are both native Oregonians, and she spent a lot of time in the Pacific Northwest growing up.

"My interests in forest preservation, mycology and herbalism are all thanks to my family’s roots in Oregon," she says. "My interests in art history, DJ-ing, cultural movements and really good bagels are thanks to New York."

Her debut album, Dragonfly, released at the end of the month, follows her independently released 2022 debut Moss on the Ceiling, and most recently, an EP called Closer to the Bugs.

“Dragonfly is a patchwork quilt, quite literally, of post-college me," McCoy says. "Experiencing two of my most formative college years during a global pandemic was not planned by any means, and it gave me so much time to hunker down and write. I think heartbreak is one of the most formative things someone can go through, and this album really helped me process that experience for me. Heartbreak isn’t always just romantic - I was mourning friendships, a full, in-person college experience, and losing the ability to create and connect with new people in person. Missing major milestones in my life, my family’s life - it was a lot to process while the world was groaning."

"These songs are a return to my musical roots, the music that made me, and an attempt at telling my stories without holding back. More than anything I hope someone can see themselves in my songs and my experiences."

Dragonfly is released on 30 May on Acrophase Records

Listen If You Like: Jensen McRae, Lucy Dacus, Samia

Wham! Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!The Italian wine Est! Est!! Est!!! Throughout history, exclamation points have been the preserve of the brave and fearless. Shania Twain's 'Man! I Feel Like a Woman!' had two of the six that appeared in the tracklisting for her 1997 album Come On Over. There's a reason why Elaine thought the note "Myra had the baby" needed one in Seinfeld, because an exclamation point is a sign of something truly, undeniably exciting!

20-year-old Brenn! is one such instance. If anyone deserved a bang at the end of their name, it's Brenn! Real name Brennan Keller, he grew up in Tuscaloosa Alabama, where he found his affinity for music in high school after being asked to join a band with his friends. In 2022, after leaving the band to focus on his own music, he signed to Westward Recordings which took him to Nashville for his first ever session and he left town with a song that would go on to be his first single in the can.

That song was the now ubiquitous '4Runner'. Released in April 2023, the song went on to do half a million streams on the first day and has since racked up over 100 million streams. Included on the County Line EP last year, he followed it up with 'Days on End,' that proved it had been no fluke the first time, and with recent single 'Franklin House' - his first of 2025 - it doesn't look like the juggernaut is slowing anytime soon.

His strangely uplifting folky torch songs lurk in the shadows, on the outside looking in, unable to shake off all the out-of-placeness he feels in modern life, always circling back to his home of Tuscaloosa, the muse which gives his stories their lifeblood.

"I've been getting worse / Worse than you've ever seen me," he sings on 'Days on End.' "I've been yelling at the traffic just to feel seen by something / The weather here's been tragic Just something to be mad at."

These are songs about the endless search for belonging and meaning in a world that always feels unexplainable somehow. He's the kind of guy who can't wait to go back home for Christmas, but when he gets there, all he feels is a deep sadness that nothing's the same as it used to be.

With his uncanny knack for blending classic folk storytelling with modern pop hooks and stadium sized choruses, he proudly looks to Noah Kahan’s raw Americana and Lumineers’ rousing dynamism for guidance.

“I still feel like I’m 17, like I haven’t lived a lot of life, but this past year, I’ve just lived way too much” Brenn! explains about recent single 'Franklin House' and the breakup that inspired it, named after a bar his ex-girlfriend would frequent when they were physically apart. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever written in my life. It’s about grieving the loss of somebody who’s still there with you. Every Friday she went out to Franklin House, and with each passing Friday, it was like I was losing a piece of her.”

Sometimes you just need an exclamation point to give you a little lift!

The Upstate EP is released on 23 May

Listen If You Like: Sam Barber, Noah Kahan, The Lumineers

Listen to a selection of songs from our 10 Artists You Need To Know on the playlist below.

For more of the monthly editions of Holler's 10 Artists You Need To Know, see below: