Network television and the exposure it can confer isn’t what it once was, similar to the footprint of the careers of guys like Blake Shelton and Keith Urban. But that doesn’t mean the exposure is insignificant, and that it can’t hold sway over a set of consumers who might otherwise not be exposed to better options in the country music space.
On Sunday (8-19), the opening episode of the new CBS reality TV series The Road premiered, giving some very worthy talent network television face time in a way that can only be good. The show cast a dozen independent and up-and-coming country artists competing for an opportunity to open for Keith Urban, play the Stagecoach Festival in California, and win $250,000.
Far and away the best part of the show is the twelve contestants they picked to compete. This includes Adam Sanders, Billie Jo Jones, Blaine Bailey, Briana Adams, Britnee Kellogg, Cassidy Daniels, Channing Wilson, Cody Hibbard, Forrest McCurren, Jenny Tolman, Jon Wood and Olivia Harms.
Blaine Bailey is a Native American songwriter from Oklahoma whose debut album Home was featured here at Saving Country Music in 2024 and became a fan favorite. Channing Wilson is a hard-charging Outlaw country performer and songwriter who’s had tracks recorded by Luke Combs and others. His 2023 album Dead Man was also a fan favorite here at SCM. And Jenny Tolman’s 2022 album Married in a Honky Tonk might be the best mix of contemporary and traditional country in years.
Other artists previously mentioned here at Saving Country Music include Oregon’s Olivia Harms and Oklahoma’s Cody Hibbard. Unquestionably, whoever chose the talent for this competition had their ear to the ground and found some deserving names to feature. It’s also heartening to see some older artists featured, artists from all around the country, and women worthy of recognition, including two mothers.
The problem with The Road is the way this show was configured to judge these worthy contestants.
The stars hosting the show are Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, and Gretchen Wilson, who are very much creatures of mainstream pop country (and of years past), while the majority of the contestants are more traditional country, and singer/songwriter types. Who gets to choose who moves on, and who gets eliminated each week? It’s the fans of Keith Urban in the audience, voting on their phones. That means you have fans of very contemporary pop country judging traditional country performers and songwriters.
That really is the show’s biggest flaw, while fans of performers like Channing Wilson, Blaine Bailey, etc. aren’t really going to want to sit through a show featuring Keith Urban and Blake Shelton. You can understand why CBS was like, “We need names America will recognize for this show.” There is definitely a boomer, network TV energy to The Road. Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, Landman, etc.) is named as the executive producer—if he in fact Sheridan is anything more than a figurehead.
The debut episode of the show also did a good job explaining how hard it is for a touring musician, why you really have to be wired for the road and hear it as a calling to make it as a musician, any why being able to make it on the road is imperative to be a music performer. “The Road” really is what separates the wheat from the chaff.
Because the first episode shot in Fort Worth had to squeeze in introducing the show’s premise, the twelve contestants, and performances, it felt pretty frenetic. But this should even out as the series goes on. It’s also fair to point out that similar to The Voice, American Idol, and America’s Got Talent, in the internet/TikTok age, these shows have failed to actually launch talent beyond the shows themselves. But who knows, maybe The Road will be different.
The show is just getting started, so we’ll have to see if it takes off. Along with airing Sunday nights on CBS, it is also available on demand on Paramount+, and the first episode is available in full on YouTube (see above).
***SPOILER ALERT***SPOILER ALERT***
On the first episode, the first contestant to be eliminated was Oklahoma’s Blaine Bailey, who just released a really good album called Indian Country. Bailey is a great new Native American country artist who was one of the most interesting characters on the show. But a show like The Road is just not going to know what to do with a character like Blaine Bailey.
One of the other bottom three for the week was Forrest McCurren, who is a signer/songwriter from Missouri strongly influenced by John Prine. This show is going to eat these folks up, not because their talent isn’t commensurate with the other contestants, but because it’s Keith Urban fans who are judging them. These fans aren’t going to be listening for the nuance in the lyricism. They want to waive their arms in the air like they just don’t care, and be entertained.
This is also going to give a big advantage to guys like Adam Sanders and Cody Hibbard, who bring more of that mainstream crowd-pleasing attitude to their music. Along with Cassidy Daniels who had an excellent performance, they made it into the Top 3 performers for the first show.
Another artist who had a standout performance and seemed to make a big impression was Channing Wilson who performed his epic, heart-pounding song “Blues Comin’ On.” But as Channing remarked on the episode himself, to woo Keith Urban fans, he’s going to need to bring more up-tempo music as the show progresses.
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