Every year around this time, Country Radio Seminar quietly tips its hand.

CRS isn’t a fan-voted award show or a streaming popularity contest. It’s the room where the people who program country radio actually sit together and decide what gets spun, tested, and pushed. When CRS names its New Faces class, they are essentially saying, “These are the artists we believe can break through next.”

And historically, they’re usually right.

For CRS 2026, the New Faces of Country Music lineup includes Kelsey Hart, Ella Langley, Chase Matthew, John Morgan, Meghan Patrick, and Josh Ross. This group will take the stage during CRS 2026 in Nashville, performing for a room full of radio programmers, label executives, and industry decision-makers who have a direct hand in shaping what country radio sounds like next.

What makes the New Faces distinction different is timing. These artists aren’t brand-new. They’ve already shown momentum through touring, streaming growth, and early radio success. CRS tends to catch artists right at the moment where a few strategic pushes can turn “promising” into “household name.”

This year’s class also reflects a radio landscape that’s slowly widening. There’s a noticeable mix of traditional storytelling, modern edge, and crossover appeal here, plus strong representation from artists who built their fanbases on the road and online before radio fully embraced them. That matters, especially as radio continues trying to balance legacy listeners with younger audiences who discovered country outside the dial.

The New Faces of Country Music Show has been a career pivot point for decades. Past alumni include artists who went on to dominate radio, headline tours, and shape entire eras of country music. That history is why industry folks pay attention, and why fans should too.

If you’re the kind of listener who likes being early rather than catching on once everyone else has, this list is worth filing away. Odds are good you’ll be hearing these names a lot more in the year ahead.