Alabama-born country crooner Kashus Culpepper encompasses the sound of the South. A student and reverent purveyor of Southern music – country, soul, blues, folk, and rock – Culpepper’s husky, sandpaper growl bellows like a freight train over self-penned stories that are as raw and real as they are haunting. Finding his voice in church as young as five years old, it wasn’t until 2020’s global pandemic that Culpepper went from listener to performer, picking up a guitar and learning cover songs to play at barrack bonfires in Rota, Spain during his deployment with the Navy. Covers soon became originals, and once he landed home on U.S. shores, Kash played dive bars up and down the Mississippi Gulf Coast, making a name for himself with the fresh-yet-reminiscent sound that oozes from his very being. Crashing into prominence now, Culpepper has already sold-out headline club shows and opened sound pioneers like Charles Wesley Godwin, Charley Crockett, and Leon Bridges. With Nashville taking notice, Culpepper found a musical home at Big Loud Records, and has released songs including: “Broken Wing Bird (feat. Sierra Ferrell), “Southern Man (feat. Marcus King),” “Man Of His Word,” “Jenni,” and “After Me?” Kashus has received significant early acclaim including being named one of GRAMMY.com’s 25 Artists to Watch in 2025, Apple Music Zane Lowe’s 25 Artists for ’25, and a 2025 Amazon Music Bonfire Artist to Watch, with John Mayer praising him as "as good as it gets."

Hailing from the hills of Charleston, West Virginia, Nathan Bess writes songs that cut to the bone of Appalachian life. A full-time firefighter, his music explores the struggles, stories, and resilience of his home state, capturing the tension between hardship and hope that defines the region, following in the footsteps of Appalachian country music stalwarts like Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson. In 2024, Bess burst onto the scene with debut EP, part 1, and its sequel, part 2. Highlighted by breakout track “Somethin’ About The Smell,” his catalog has amassed over 5 million streams and marked him as a rising star in the genre. Onstage, early returns have been just as promising, as he’s earned the adoration of audiences across the Ohio Valley and east coast with his soul-stirring vocals and unflinching honesty. Now focused on the next chapter in his career, Bess looks to continue the tradition of American storytelling as one of the most promising new artists in country music.