The 2026 Wide Open Country Song Contest judging panel is here! Featuring a dynamic mix of legendary talent, emerging artists, and industry insiders, this year's judges are ready to hear your music. Enter your songs today and get to know the panel below.
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Philip Bowen (Singer/Songwriter)
Philip Bowen is a dynamic and engaging singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose
sound is steeped in the rich traditions of his Appalachian roots. Born and raised in West Virginia,
he picked up the fiddle at age four and built a loyal following through his energetic
performances—amassing over 1.5 million fans and followers online.
Carter Faith (Singer/Songwriter)
After she began writing songs at 16, Carter Faith followed the path of many aspiring young country musicians before her and left North Carolina behind for Nashville. In just a few years, Faith had caught the attention of seasoned professionals and industry tastemakers alike, soon accumulating hundreds of millions of global streams with just a pair of EPs and a series of singles. Her early career was a whirlwind of high-profile collaborations and tours with the likes of Little Big Town, Shaboozey, Ella Langley, Keith Urban, Willie Nelson, and many more, plus accolades like features on All Country News' Artists to Watch list for 2025 and CMT's Next Women of Country campaign. Billboard has lauded Faith's vocals for "exuding fragility with a smoky resonance," while The Tennessean has praised Faith's embodiment of "the center square of the puzzle that country, folk and rock synergy has timelessly inspired."
After signing with MCA and Universal Music Publishing Group, Faith began recording her long-awaited debut album Cherry Valley. The result of years writing with mentor and producer Tofer Brown, Cherry Valley looks back to some of Faith's formative influences — Tammy Wynette, Nancy Sinatra, iconic '60s classic rock albums like Pet Sounds and Revolver — to realize the "cowgirl hippie and sometimes a bit trippy" aesthetic Faith's been chasing all along. Across 15 tracks, Cherry Valley is both cinematic and deeply personal, featuring a narrative rich with details as Faith documents the travails of loss and heartbreak as youth tumbles into adulthood. With singles as varied as the sly "Grudge" or the gut-wrenching "If I Had Never Lost My Mind...," Cherry Valley proves Faith is already a young master of the form, putting her own twist on classic country narratives with a sound that is both modern and timeless.
Photo credit Bree Fish
Hannah McFarland (Singer/Songwriter)
In the tradition of country's greatest songwriters, Hannah McFarland has a divine gift for bringing an unexpected beauty to moments of heartbreak. The daughter of a cowboy and a portrait artist, the Alabama native took up guitar at age 15 and soon began opening for country superstars like Kelsea Ballerini and Travis Tritt, immediately dazzling audiences with her soul-soothing vocal work. After honing her chops through countless gigs on Nashville's live circuit, she began releasing her original songs and swiftly inked a joint global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music and The Core Publishing. As she stepped into the country spotlight — including joining Zach Bryan onstage for a duet of his Grammy-winning "I Remember Everything" — McFarland also signed to The Core Records/Capitol Records and made her major-label debut with "Hey Highway" (featured on SiriusXM The Highway's On the Horizon).
Named to Pandora's 2025 Artists To Watch-Country list, she released her debut EP Broken Hearts in February 2025 and quickly landed on coveted lists like New Music Friday from NPR's All Songs Considered. Hailed by Holler. as "one of country music's quiet geniuses," McFarland also appeared on Hits Daily Double's New & Developing Artists round-up, joining the ranks of past honorees like Luke Combs and Chris Stapleton. In recent months, she's gained acclaim for a series of A-list collaborations, including featuring on Riley Green's "I Just Need You" and Brett Young's "In Case You Didn't Know 2.0" as well as linking up with Chase Rice for her late-summer single "Foolin'." With her live experience including touring with hitmakers like Tucker Wetmore and Kip Moore, performing with Riley Green at the Grand Ole Opry, and taking the stage at major festivals like Boots and Hearts and Country Jam, McFarland will spend this fall on the road as support for Chase Rice and Riley Green.
Ashland Craft (Singer/Songwriter)
Ashland Craft hasn't forgotten where she came from. Years before her blue-collar country anthems and honky-tonk spirit earned a national audience, she grew up in Piedmont, South Carolina, making her living as a bar singer. It wasn't long before Ashland graduated to larger venues, playing to country fans on Cody Johnson's arena tour and expanding her rock & roll fanbase as Marcus King Band's opening act. Throughout it all, she remembered the dive bars and roadhouses that kick-started her career, molding her into a road warrior whose songs were every bit as strong as her work ethic.
Those songs take center stage on Dive Bar Beauty Queen. Full of old-school storytelling and modern attitude, it's the first self-produced album of Ashland's career. She isn't just a songwriter here, delivering amped-up autobiographical anthems about heartache and resilience in a raw, raspy voice sharpened by countless hours beneath the stage lights. She's the album's architect, too, creating a sound that splits the difference between country, southern soul, and rootsy rock & roll. Dive Bar Beauty Queen is a leap forward for Ashland, but it finds her looking to the past, too, saluting the sounds and stories that first inspired her to become a traveling musician.
Shantaia (Singer/Songwriter)
Shantaia is a three-time SCMA award-winning artist and songwriter originally from Spiritwood,
Saskatchewan, now based in Nashville. With powerhouse vocals and a magnetic stage
presence, Shantaia—much like her name—is unforgettable. She's opened for major acts
including Kane Brown, Midland, Lonestar, and Chris Lane, and has shared festival stages with
artists such as Tyler Childers, Hailey Whitters, and more.
She's become a staple at top Canadian festivals, having performed on the main stages of
Cavendish Beach Music Festival, Boots and Hearts, Dauphin's Countryfest, Country Thunder
Sask, Calgary Stampede, and NXNE. After being crowned the Boots and Hearts Emerging
Artist Showcase Winner, she released her single "What I Wouldn't Do" via Universal Music
Canada in 2024. The song, co-written with longtime collaborator Ryan Sorestad and
Grammy-nominated producer Curt Chambers, marked a smoldering sonic shift and continued
to establish Shantaia as one of country's freshest rising voices.
Lee Dannay (A&R, Thirty Tigers)
Lee Dannay is the VIP of A&R at Thirty Tigers. She has been involved in the development of
artists like John Mayer and Brandi Carlisle, and she currently works with a roster that includes
standouts such as Corinne Bailey Rae, Bruce Hornsby, Bela Fleck, and Taj Mahal.
Rohan Kholi (A&R, Warner Music Group)
Kohli joined the Warner Music Nashville A&R team in 2017, working extensively with 3x GRAMMY® Award-winning duo Dan + Shay, 3x GRAMMY®-nominee Ingrid Andress, Bailey Zimmerman, Avery Anna, Chase Matthew, Redferrin, Adrien Nunez, Matt Schuster, Devin Dawson, Giovannie and the Hired Guns, and more. He began his career at Ozone Entertainment in New York as a manager for bands, including Boys Like Girls, Cartel, and Hey Monday, as well as songwriter/producers Sam Hollander and Dave Katz. He moved to Los Angeles and transitioned into full-time writer/producer management before settling in Nashville in 2013, where he worked with talents such as Paul DiGiovanni, Andy Albert, and more. Kohli graduated from Emory University in Atlanta with a degree in Economics.
Scott Graves (Exec A&R / Music Publishing, Savage Music)
Scott Graves is an industry A&R veteran with Warner Music, Sony Music, and Virgin Records, to name a few. Scott, a tireless supporter and nurturer of talent, is known for the signing of Josh Ritter, Brendan Benson, Langhorne Slim, Lenka, and more.
