Well we are now more than a full week into 2016 and all of our “New Year, New Me” resolutions! One of our resolutions here at MinnesotaCountry.com is to bring you even more music news, chances to win cool prizes and tickets, and interviews with your favorite artists. So, to start off making good on that resolution we put together a list of 16 new artists we’re excited about in 2016!
Hailey Whitters
We think Hailey Whitters might just be one of the best things to come out of Iowa! Her album Black Sheep came out towards the end of last year and it’s an amazing story-book of songs for everyone who’s ever felt they were a little different, so basically everyone. Some of the stand-out tracks on the album are the title track, “Black Sheep” and “One More Hell” which was written after Hailey lost her brother in a car accident. If this debut album is just a taste of what’s to come from Hailey, we can’t wait to hear more!
Maren Morris
Maren Morris’ EP that dropped last year oozes cool. It has sassy tracks (80’s Mercedes, Drunk Girls Don’t Cry), tracks that will give you all the feels (Wish I Was) and one that will take you to church (My Church). This Texas girl reminds us of some of other favorite Texans, Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert, and we are impatiently waiting for a full album of songs to crank up on the radio dial.
Tucker Beathard
Tucker may be the son of famous song-writer, Casey Beathard and the brother of Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback, C.J. Beathard, but we happen to think his song writing and singing abilities will set him up for a breakout year in 2016. Tucker put out Tucker Beathard: The Demos – Vol. 1 back in October and we haven’t stopped listening to it since! Tracks like “Momma And Jesus” and “Rock On” speak to all of us who have ever been a little young and reckless (Tucker was the inspiration behind Eric Church’s “Homeboy” written by his dad, Casey), and “20-10 Tennessee” looks at relationships in terms of a football game. He ended 2015 touring with Maddie & Tae and we’re hoping 2016 might bring him to Minnesota for a show or two.
Ryan Hurd
His name might not yet ring a bell, but you definitely know Ryan Hurd’s work. He co-wrote the Blake Shelton and Ashley Monroe hit, “Lonely Tonight” and The Swon Brother’s “Later On”. Plus if you listen to Sirius XM The Highway you might have heard the hilarious song “Drunk People” off of Panorama, the EP Ryan released in August. He also spent the fall playing the CMT: On Tour After-Party. Ryan might have had a pretty busy 2015, but we’re excited to hear even more music from him in 2016. In the meantime we’ll just be wearing out Panorama while we wait.
Lucie Silvas
Lucie Silvas had a pretty eventful 2015 with her wedding to John Osborne of Brothers Osborne in June and the release of her album Letters To Ghosts in September, but we think 2016 is going to be an even bigger year for the talented singer songwriter. The title track off her album has had us jamming through the holiday season and when we found out she self financed the entire album we admired her passion and drive even more. She’s started off 2016 playing shows with Bobby Bones’ band The Raging Idiots and we’re hoping she’ll have more tour dates announced soon.
Chris Lane
There aren’t many guys who are known for their falsetto, but Chris Lane is definitely one of them. The 31-year old singer showcases his impressive range with current radio hit “Fix” off his EP of the same name. He grew up listening to the country greats, Alan Jackson, George Strait, and the chart topping pop artists of the 90’s, Justin Timberlake, Backstreet Boys, the mix of both influences are apparent on his EP. Currently touring with Dustin Lynch and making a stop in Minneapolis on February 21st we’re ready to get our “Fix” of Chris Lane in 2016.
Annie Bosko
Bold. Independent. Fun. Those are the words we would use to describe Annie Bosko’s Fighter EP that dropped in December. They’re also words that seem to fit Annie herself. She’s opened and sang background vocals for numerous big name stars, performed the national anthem at the NBA All-Star game, and tried out for American Idol, and now is taking matters into her own hands to get her music to fans. From the sassy, “Crooked Halo” and “You Look Like I Need A Drink” to the powerful anthem “Fighter” there is something for everyone to love on her EP and we can’t wait to see what Annie has planned for 2016.
Joey Hyde
We first became fans of Joey Hyde two years ago when he played in Minneapolis while on tour with Jon Pardi. Since then he’s co-written hit songs like The Swon Brothers’ “Later On” and opened for Kip Moore’s Wild Ones tour this past year where we got to hear some of the songs he’ll be releasing on his EP this year. Joey’s humor and song writing talent have us excited to hear more from him in 2016. To familiarize yourself with his rock influenced sound check out his single “Get It On” on iTunes and Spotify.
Courtney Cole
We saw Courtney perform when she was part of Miranda Lambert’s Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars tour and we were immediately impressed with her upbeat yet sassy lyrics! Her song “Ladylike” is definitely one that will make you chuckle. Her self-titled EP is full of fun, dance worthy songs and a few slower ballads that showcase her awesome vocal ability. We can see why Miranda Lambert chose her for an opening act and can’t wait to hear more sassy and spunky music from her in 2016.
Clare Dunn
To say Clare Dunn had an impressive 2015 is an understatement. She started off the year touring with legendary rocker, Bob Seger, then joined Miranda Lambert on the Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars tour and wrapped up touring with Chris Young and Eric Paslay. In between touring she put out her self-titled EP and released the strong and sassy “Move On” to country radio. With her strong, commanding vocals and insane guitar skills she’s definitely one to watch in 2016.
Lindsay Ell
Speaking of girls with guitar skills, Lindsay Ell is another artist who can definitely wail on a guitar. She released her upbeat, makes you want to go out dancing with your girl friends, single “By The Way” to country radio at the end of 2015 and it’s currently climbing it’s way up the charts. Not only is Lindsay Ell a talented singer, songwriter, and guitar player, but she also cares about others. Back in October of last year she braved the elements and spent 24 hours busking for tips in Nashville to benefit the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. You can catch her on the CMT Next Women of Country with Jennifer Nettles, Brandy Clark, and Tara Thompson starting next week.
Cam
Cam ended 2015 on a high note releasing her much-anticipated album, Untamed and her single “Burning House” climbing the charts and adding to her already growing fan base. With a love of the color yellow and bright and sunny attitude to match, Cam’s album is so much fun with danceable beats, amazing vocals, and relatable stories. She sings about wanting it all and in 2016 we’re rooting for her to get it!
Drew Baldridge
2016 is already off to a busy start for Drew Baldridge, releasing his song “Dance With Ya” to country radio last Monday and dropping the Dance With Ya EP and starting a tour with Granger Smith on Friday. With his smooth dance moves, infectious songs, and knack for performing Drew Baldridge is hoping to continue building his fan base on the road this year by playing shows through out the U.S. We’re hoping he makes a stop in Minnesota so we can dance with him.
Dylan Scott
You may have heard this Louisiana crooner on your local radio station lately with his song “Crazy Over You”. We could listen to Dylan Scott’s deep, soulful voice all day! He’s headed out on tour with Lee Brice and Tyler Farr for the Life Off My Years tour later this year and will be playing a show in Minneapolis at The Varsity Theater with Old Dominion in February.
Russell Dickerson
He just finished up touring with Canaan Smith at the end of last year and has fans clamoring for his Yours EP to be released (it’s available for pre-order on iTunes now and available on Jan. 18th). I mean when the Sirius XM The Highway DJs are calling your song, “the best love song of 2015”, it’s kind of a big deal! The Nashville native has a passion for country music that has allowed him to share a stage with many notable country stars and from the amount of positive things we’ve heard about him from fans who saw him on tour with Canaan Smith last fall, we’re sure he’s set to have an incredible year in 2016.
Seth Alley
A red head who can get on stage and wow audiences with just his voice and his guitar, no we’re not talking about Ed Sheeran, we’re talking about Seth Alley! The singer songwriter from Tennessee has an amazing story telling ability that shines through in his songs and his confidence on stage resembles that of a seasoned performer. You’ll have to check out his songs on YouTube for now, unless you’ve already purchased them on iTunes previously, but we’re definitely excited to hear more from him in 2016.
So those are the new artists we’re excited about in 2016, but if you think we might have missed one of your favorite new artists we would love hear about it in the comments below! To give all of these artists a listen check out our Spotify playlist below and check out their websites to catch a few of them on tour this year!
Written by Jackie Ebnet for MinnesotaCountry.com