We are excited to announce the official 2024 Wide Open Country Song Contest judges! This year's panel includes legendary & emerging country artists, songwriters & industry professionals. Enter your songs for a chance to be heard. Learn more about the judges below!
Videos by Wide Open Country
Kaitlin Butts (Artist/Songwriter)
A truly one-of-a-kind artist, Kaitlin Butts has a deep affinity for country music's more theatrical side: the extravagant storytelling, dazzling showmanship, songs embedded with both unbridled emotion and quick-fire humor. 2024 Americana Awards New Emerging Act nominee discovered her passion for performing as a little girl, the Tulsa, Oklahoma native later brought her boundless energy and radiant voice to her own unapologetic yet soulful songwriting. She has recently toured with the likes of Dierks Bentley, Lainey Wilson, Turnpike Troubadours and Morgan Wade. Her new album, Roadrunner!, sets up a new chapter for the singer/songwriter. Produced by Oran Thornton (Brent Cobb, Logan Brill), Roadrunner! marks a major tonal shift from Butts' 2022 sophomore LP, What Else Can She Do, a character-driven exploration of complex matters like addiction, domestic violence, and generational trauma. In 2024, Kaitlin has been touring all of the country, including her first ever headline tour with sold out shows all over the country.
Meghan Patrick (Artist/Songwriter)
Ontario native, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Meghan Patrick is as real as they come. She playfully blends her tough-as-nails exterior with a casual, cool narrative - showing the world that women can be sexy, strong, intimate, and gritty. Whether it's composing skillfully crafted songwriting or tearing it up on tour - listeners are invited into her world and very quickly become lifelong fans. A back-to-back CCMA Female Artist of the Year whose accolades also include 19 CMAOntario Awards, she has proven that she has what it takes to create music that her fan base adores. Now gearing up to release her next deeply personal project, Golden Child, she has reached a point where after 8 years in Nashville, she can peel back even more layers and be even more authentic.
Troy Cartwright (Artist/Songwriter)
A devoted disciple of music since his early years, Troy Cartwright became fixated on the way his favorite songs made him feel when growing up. The Dallas, TX native received his first guitar at age 13 which ignited his creative fever, leading him to begin writing music and starting his own band. His fascination quickly turned into a dream he was hellbent on making his reality. Making the move to Nashville was a pivotal moment in his life, and he finally found a community of musicians and creators to which he instantly felt connected to. "This is what I've been looking for my whole life," Cartwright says of the transition to Music City. "It's always the songs, the songs have introduced me to all of my friends and I just love Nashville, I love the community and the people."
Through steady and constant releases, Cartwright garnered over 200 million streams to date. "I just try to focus on writing songs that make people feel something and I am trying to do the same thing that some of those records that I found growing up, that made me feel all of the things, I am trying to pay that forward." As an independent artist, Cartwright has used the power of his short-form content to release music to his ever-growing audience. Additionally, his success expands far beyond his artistic career. As a songwriter signed to Big Machine Publishing, Cartwright has written songs recorded by Cody Johnson, Ryan Hurd, Nickelback, and several others.
Scott Graves (Exec A&R / Music Publishing, Savage Music)
Industry A&R and Music Publishing veteran with Warner Music, Sony Music, and Virgin to name a few who signed artists like Josh Ritter, Brendan Benson, Langhorne Slim, Lenka, and many more.
Jim McCormick (Songwriter)
Jim McCormick is a Grammy and CMA nominated, multi-platinum selling songwriter who has scored three #1 songs atop Billboard's Country Airplay chart: Gabby Barrett's "The Good Ones"; Jason Aldean's "Take A Little Ride"; and Brantley Gilbert's "You Don't Know Her Like I Do."
In 2021 "The Good One's" received the Country Music Association's Song of the Year nomination and won Favorite Country Song at the American Music Awards that year.
His songs also have been recorded by Kelly Clarkson, Luke Bryan, Harry Connick Jr., Tim McGraw, Randy Travis, Trisha Yearwood, Charlie Pride, Ronnie Milsap, Trace Adkins, Jon Pardi, Jamey Johnson, Keith Urban, Cody Johnson, and many others.
He has served as a board governor and vice-president for the Recording Academy and on the board of the Nashville Songwriters Association International. He is also an alumnus of Nashville's Leadership Music.
Paul Steele (Exec Partner, Triple 8 Management)
Paul Steele is a 24 year music industry veteran based in Nashville, TN, and currently Executive Partner at Triple 8 Management. Over the years, artists Paul has worked with have achieved every point of success - millions of albums sold, billions of streams and all award distinctions: GRAMMYs, GMAs, ACMs, CMAs, AMAs, EMMYs, with chart success at every radio format from pop to alternative. Paul is also one of the few industry executives to have repeated chart success completely independent from the major label infrastructure. As an entrepreneur and founder, Paul co-founded Moon River Music Festival, a boutique festival in Chattanooga; Magnolia Record Club, a vinyl delivery service with over 2000 subscribers; Musicbed, a synch licensing platform with over 300,000 users; and Good Time Entertainment, a re-issue label and publishing company that controls 50,000 masters.
Kevin Salem (Producer/Artist/Songwriter)
Kevin Salem is a singer-songwriter & record producer who began his career as a member of Dumptruck and subsequently toured with multiple artists on tour, including Yo La Tengo and Freedy Johnston.
LJ Stoll (GM / VP A&R, Big Machine Label Group)
Lawrence "LJ" started as an Artist Relations Intern at Live Nation, working on organizing the Voodoo Music & Arts Experience festival. Stoll later transitioned to Se Lavi Productions / Rebel Music and served as the Head of A&R/Music. In 2023, Stoll became the CEO/Founder of Emerald Lane Music Group and currently holds the position of GM / VP A&R at Big Machine Label Group.
LJ Stoll (A&R, Warner Music Group)
Kohli joined the Warner Music Nashville A&R team in 2017, working extensively with GRAMMY® Award-winning duo Dan + Shay and 3x GRAMMY®-nominee Ingrid Andress. He began his career at Ozone Entertainment in New York as a manager for bands, including Boys Like Girls 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.
