This year’s Country Radio Seminar (CRS) was held in downtown Nashville at the Omni Hotel on Friday, February 21. The event hosts radio and industry personalities, artists, and journalists for three days that include special performances, workshops and interviews laying out the rest of the year for the country music industry. The event has acted as a foot in the door for many country artists since its creation in 1970. The five emerging artists spotlighted this year were Drew Baldridge, Ashley Cooke, Dasha, Zach Top, and Warren Zeiders; all of which have seen country radio success in the past two years.
24-year-old Anna Dasha Novotny, better known by her stage name Dasha was first to perform for the night. She gained her initial audience from sharing her music on TikTok. A reel of her past accomplishments played before she stunned the audience with her blend of pop-country music and fun stage presence. She sang “Didn’t I,” “Heartbreaker From Tennessee” and “Even Cowboys Cry.” After introducing her next upcoming album, she played a new song full of energy called “Not This Party.” Dasha ended her set with her platinum-certified hit “Austin (Boots Stop Workin’),” keeping the crowd going and evencoming out to try to join the crowd into her line dance.
Drew Baldridge was next to perform, beginning with a video showcasing his journey through music in the past few years. Baldridge began his career as an independent artist when he achieved his first No. 1 single and now works with BMG/Stoney Creek. He introduced a new song, “Rebel,” followed by his newest single, “Tough People” which just hit the Top 20 on Country Radio. After bringing some St. Jude survivors onstage for a special moment of strength, Baldridge broke out into his breakthrough track and No. 1 single “She’s Somebody’s Daughter.”
Warren Zeiders followed onto the stage after a video of his recent achievements and his title of one of People’s Sexiest Men Alive. At just 25-years-old, this up-and-coming country star already has a CMT Award under his belt and four albums. Zeiders opened his set with “Relapse,” then seamlessly transitioned to “You For A Reason.” Next, he sang his 2024 No. 1 hit and double Platinum certified song “Pretty Little Poison,” then wrapped up his performance with his breakthrough song on TikTok, “Ride the Lightning.”
Ashley Cooke was next up to perform but started with a light-hearted skit about her comically struggling to imitate animal noises required for her radio liners. Beginning music in 2020, Cooke has been MusicRow’s Discovery Artist of the Year and Next Big Thing, Billboard’s Rookie of the Month, and iHeartCountry’s On The Verge Artist. After some laughs, Cooke sang through tracks like her first No. 1 Country Radio hit “Your Place,” and “I Almost Do.” She then slipped in a new never before heard song called “The F Word.” The highlight of the night was when Cooke closed out her performance with a surprise appearance and duet with Joe Jonas with their new song “All I Forgot.”
For the final performance of the evening, Zach Top made his entrance without a video introduction like the other artists. Top began his career as a solo bluegrass artist in 2019 but quickly pivoted to country music in 2023. He kept the crowd engaged by starting off with his debut country radio single “Sounds Like The Radio,” followed by “Bad Luck,” and his song “Use Me.” He then sang out the words to his new Top 10 single “I Never Lie” and ended his set with the up-beat 2022 favorite “Cold Beer & Country Music.” Zach proved that he is perfect for country music as one of its fastest rising stars as everyone in the room sang along his tunes.
We can’t wait to see which stars make the 2026 CRS New Faces list!