5 Country Artists To Keep A Ear Out For In 2026

As we usher in a brand new year, it’s time to look ahead and see who we think will be breaking out in a big way within the ever-growing country music scene in 2026. We know there’s always that one star that seems to come out of nowhere, but here we bring you 5 artists who had a fantastic 2025 and are now looking ahead to an even brighter year ahead.

HARPER GRACE

2025 was a hugely successful year for Texan native Harper Grace, with the singer/songwriter releasing a string of hit singles, including her breakthrough collaboration ‘IDK’ with Franklin Jonas, and the radio single ‘Freedom’. While her previously released 2024 hit ‘Getaway’ was used in the Netflix original movie The Wrong Paris’. Now, Harper Grace is readying the release of her eagerly anticipated debut album, which is slated to be dropped in Q1 via Curb Records.

TWINNIE

UK native Twinnie, now based in Nashville, had an absolutely brilliant 2025, building on the success of the 2024 album ‘Something We Used To Say’. Having played multiple festivals, including making her debut at Glastonbury, 2025 also saw her release a string of singles, including ‘Giddy Up’ and ‘Don’t Need A Cowboy’. 2026 is set to be even brighter and busier, with Twinnie touring the UK in March and April, and plans to release a new album in the diary too.

VIC ALLEN

Having enjoyed success with her first-ever UK tour in 2025, Vic Allen also released the standout ‘Ended In A Song’ and continued her relationship with Song Suffragettes. Now, as we welcome in the new year, the singer/songwriter is gearing up for a breakout year that will see her playing live more frequently while releasing a lot more new music. Things are about to get very exciting for Vic Allen.

CHANEL YATES

2025 was a pretty special year for Chanel Yates, with highlights including her performing at Reading and Leeds Festival, hitting over a million streams on Spotify on the singles ‘Big Girl Boots’ and ‘Shotgun Seat’, and performing at C2C Festival, so it comes as little surprise that she makes this countdown. 2026 is about to be very, very big for the English country artist, with her already having a sold-out headline London show pencilled in for February.

OLLIE HAWKINS

Ollie Hawkins rose quite rapidly through the ranks in 2025 with a crowning moment that came at BST Hyde Park in the summer, where he performed on stage with country superstar Zach Bryan in front of 50,000+ people. Ollie also released his debut single ‘Take The Money And Run’ before closing out the year with ‘Franklin’. 2026 is set to be ever more exciting for the Manchester artist; he is definitely one to be keeping an ear out for.

Who are you rooting for in 2026? Let us know in the comments below and across socials.