<\/p>\n
Keith Urban is ready to take 12 artists on The Road. In his new CBS competition series<\/a>, a dozen talented performers will get the chance to open for Urban at a show. After they take the stage, the live audience will get to decide who continues on in the competition. <\/p>\n With the help of producer Blake Shelton and Tour Manager Gretchen Wilson, the contestants will dive head first into life on the road. While viewers may not know the artists\u2019 names just yet, that doesn\u2019t mean the contestants lack experience.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody in this cast is a rookie\u2026 Everyone\u2019s very seasoned and fighting for the same chance to be a superstar,\u201d contestant Jenny Tolman told American Songwriter. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot different than all these other shows that are out right now, so you\u2019re going to see the reality of it: the ugly, the dirty, the gritty, the crusty, and the dusty.\u201d<\/p>\n Ahead of the show\u2019s Oct. 19 premiere, read on to meet the 12 contestants fighting to win the massive prize: a set at the iconic Mane Stage at Stagecoach Country Music Festival 2026, $250,000 cash, and a recording contract.<\/p>\n Adam Sanders\u2019 journey to The Road started with a call from Blake Shelton\u2019s production manager, which led to him nabbing one of the 12 coveted shots on the show.<\/p>\n \u201cI looked at [the show] as an opportunity of a moment in my career that I had hadn\u2019t had up to that point,\u201d Sanders told American Songwriter. \u201cThat, for me, was sort of the driving force. It just felt right from the very beginning for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Hailing from Lake City, Florida, the 36-year-old singer has already had a successful career in country music. He\u2019s written No. 1 hits for Dustin Lynch and Cole Swindell, and also penned tunes for Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, and Blake Shelton. <\/p>\n His own performance career began in earnest in 2021, when he released \u201cWhat If I\u2019m Right.\u201d Since then he\u2019s released multiple EPs and two LPs, most recently 2024\u2019s Right in the Middle of It. <\/p>\n A born-and-bred Texan, 34-year-old Billie Jo Jones<\/a> is ready to take show off her vocal abilities on a national stage. <\/p>\n Since auditioning for The Voice 11 years ago, Jones has continued to hone her craft. She truly burst onto the scene with \u201cRight Now Kinda Girl\u201d in 2023. That was followed up by her debut album, Some Girls Don\u2019t Cry, the next year. Jones\u2019 latest single, \u201cMarilyn,\u201d debuted Oct. 10.<\/p>\n \u201cSinging is the only thing I have ever wanted to do,\u201d Jones said on her website<\/a>. \u201cGod didn\u2019t give me this voice to just sit at home with it. I believe He gave me this voice and the courage to go out and play shows every weekend. I have always had a heart for people and getting to share my voice and my story through my songs means EVERYTHING to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Having played music since he was 13, Blaine Bailey<\/a> is for his turn in the spotlight. <\/p>\n The 23-year-old from Oklahoma, released his debut album, Lost City, in 2021. The LP was a tribute to his upbringing in the Keetoowah Tribe, where he learned to play blues guitar and developed an appreciation for rock and roll and country music. He followed up that album with two more: Home in 2024 and Indian Country in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the hardest parts of music today is there\u2019s so many musicians that it\u2019s hard to stand out,\u201d Bailey said in an Instagram video<\/a>. \u201cThis [show] has given me the opportunity to get my music in a spotlight.\u201d<\/p>\n Briana Adams<\/a> has been playing music since she was 14. Now, at age 30, Adams is gearing up to bring her pure Texas honky tonk style to The Road.<\/p>\n Born and raised in small town Texas, Adams has opened for some of the biggest artists in the state, including Randy Rogers Band and Charlie Robison. Her debut EP, Dive Bars & Old Guitars, came out in 2017, and was followed by a second release, One More Highway, four years later. Adams\u2019 most recent single, \u201cNot Drinkin\u2019 Tonight,\u201d came out in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cI write music because it can be one of the most intimate forms of communication,\u201d Adams said on her website<\/a>. \u201cWhen I was a little girl, I told myself I was going to be a musician and write songs, and I\u2019ve stuck with it.\u00a0I do this because I LOVE IT!\u201d <\/p>\n Britnee Kellogg<\/a>\u2018s love of country music goes back decades, to when she attended a Johnny Cash concert at age 6. Now a 40-year-old mom of three, Kellogg\u2019s dedication to the genre hasn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n She\u2019s no stranger to a competition show, having competed on seasons 11 and 12 of American Idol. <\/p>\n Kellogg, who\u2019s previously shared the stage with artists including Blake Shelton, Kane Brown and Jon Pardi, released her album, She\u2019s Come a Long Way, in 2024. Her latest EP, Mama\u2019s Point of View, was released in September.<\/p>\n \u201cI love country music because it tells a story you connect to,\u201d Kellogg said in an Instagram video<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m a mom of three, so it\u2019s hard. After three or four years it\u2019d be really easy to throw in the towel and give up, but I\u2019m doing it for them. This is exactly where I\u2019m meant to be.\u201d <\/p>\n A guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist, Cassidy Daniels<\/a> has a lot to bring to The Road. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very rare that you get to be surrounded by people who have done what you\u2019ve dreamed of your whole life,\u201d Daniels told American Songwriter. \u201cI think it\u2019s such a privilege that we were able to spend so much time with Blake and Keith and Gretchen.\u201d <\/p>\n The 25-year-old artist\u2019s self-titled debut EP was released in 2020. Since then, she\u2019s put out several singles, most recently \u201cI Will Not Take It Anymore.\u201dAdditionally, Daniels has opened for dozens of major artists and penned tracks with some of the greatest songwriters in the world.<\/p>\n Channing Wilson<\/a>, who grew up in Georgia, learned to play guitar when he was 17, started writing songs shortly thereafter, and decided to pursue a music career by age 25. The rest is history. <\/p>\n The 50-year-old musician has since penned tracks for artists including Luke Combs and Tyler Farr. As for his own music, Wilson released his debut LP, Dead Man, in 2023, the same year he made his Opry debut. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been doing this for 25 plus years,\u201d Wilson said in an Instagram video<\/a>. \u201cWhat inspires me is the history of country music, performing, playing my own song, that\u2019s the absolute most fun. I\u2019m just going to do what I do, and hopefully people are out there waiting to connect to it.\u201d<\/p>\n Cody Hibbard<\/a> grew up on a Oklahoma farm, where he discovered his passion for music in high school. The 32-year-old began song writing in earnest while working as in the world of pipelining. <\/p>\n Hibbard released his debut EP, Memory and a Dirt Road, in 2020, and followed that up with a self-titled release the following year. His first-ever LP, Long Ride in a Short Bed, was released in 2024. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been doing music for five years. I went to the United States Naval Academy, never was thinking music was going to be a career. Started writing songs and things kind of just took off,\u201d he said in an Instagram video<\/a>. \u201cThis industry puts you down. When you get on that stage and you see people singing your songs, it\u2019s a kind of high. It\u2019s an Oklahoma boy\u2019s dream, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n Forrest McCurren<\/a> is ready to hit The Road. On his website, the 35-year-old Missouri native said he \u201cwields\u00a0the magic of lyricism to cast a light on the many intricacies of everyday life set against vignettes of Middle America.\u201d<\/p>\n McCurren\u2019s debut LP, \u00a0Oh Me, Oh My, was released in 2022. He\u2019s released singles in years since, most recently \u201cSmall Prayers and Big Blessings.\u201d His follow up record is currently in the works<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been writing songs for 10 years. I love telling stories. There\u2019s something really special about live music,\u201d McCurren said in an Instagram video<\/a>. \u201cThis is a great opportunity to share songs with a wider group of people to make my family and friends proud back home.\u201d<\/p>\n Jenny Tolman<\/a> began writing songs in high school and hasn\u2019t stopped doing so since. She released her debut LP, There Goes the Neighborhood, in 2020. Married in a Honky Tonk followed in 2022, and Broke Down in Jennyville Sessions came two years after that.<\/p>\n As for her experience on The Road, the 29-year-old native Nashvillian told American Songwriter that the show \u201cwas just like an overnight dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut honestly, so much of it never really felt like we were filming a TV show, because we were doing what we loved to do,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were playing to live audiences every night.\u201d<\/p>\n Jon Wood<\/a>\u2018s love for music came straight from his dad, who was once a recording artist. After the North Carolina native moved to Nashville when he was 21, he began releasing songs. <\/p>\n His first EP, From Where I\u2019m From, came out in 2019. More EPs and singles came in the years that followed, most recently \u201cThe Bullet\u201d in October 28. <\/p>\n Speaking to American Songwriter, the 28-year-old said he\u2019s \u201cstill pinching\u201d himself about getting cast on the show.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is unreal not only to be on a TV show that broadcasts and promotes my music and who I am, but to know that the producers and the directors and people like Keith and Blake and [creator] Taylor [Sheridan] and Gretchen believe in music so much,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 I\u2019ve always just been so emotional about music and it makes me feel so blessed and thankful to be where I\u2019m at.\u201d<\/p>\n The daughter of Western Music Hall of Fame member Joni Harms, 29-year-old Olivia Harms<\/a> is ready to trade in life in Canby, Oregon, for an adventure on The Road. <\/p>\n Since releasing her first album at age 16, the younger Harms has been chasing her dreams in music. Ten years after her debut LP, Harms\u2019 released her sophomore record, Rhinestone Cowgirl. On her website<\/a>, Harms, who\u2019s continued to release singles over the years, said that she plays music for western lifestyle and honky-tonk lovers.<\/p>\n \u201cMy genre of country is very traditional. Expect to have steel guitar and fiddle,\u201d she said in an Instagram video<\/a>. \u201cSeeing people inspired and happy inspires me to keep chasing it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Road will premiere Oct. 19 on CBS.<\/p>\n Photo by Evan Mulling\/CBS<\/p>\n<\/div>\nAdam Sanders<\/h3>\n
Billie Jo Jones<\/h3>\n
Blaine Bailey<\/h3>\n
Briana Adams<\/h3>\n
Britnee Kellogg<\/h3>\n
Cassidy Daniels<\/h3>\n
Channing Wilson<\/h3>\n
Cody Hibbard<\/h3>\n
Forrest McCurren<\/h3>\n
Jenny Tolman<\/h3>\n
Jon Wood<\/h3>\n
Oliva Harms<\/h3>\n