Who Won New York’s Nash Next 2018?

Last night 10 local New York aspiring country artists competed at Opry City Stage in Times Square for a chance to become “NASH Next 2018” and move on to compete in Nashville for a record deal with Big Machine Records.  Nash FM 94.7’s own Katie Neal hosted the talent competition and alongside her were a panel of judges including NASH FM 94.7’s on-air personalities Kylie Keene and Jason Goldstein, country artist Jesse Chris, Opry’s Dolly Chandler and Nash FM’s Leslie Slender.

Family, friends, and fans of the artists filled Opry City Stage as they wore matching shirts, held signs and cheered on their favorites. Each talented artist had an opportunity to sing an original song and a cover song. The artists were judged on musicianship, stage presence, and audience reaction.  The overall winner, Jessica Rose embodied all of what the judges were looking for and more.

Nash Next 2018

Rose sang an original song “Wild Hearts” about following your dreams and not letting your heart get broken along the way. Feeding off the crowds energy she began her second song by saying “Opry City stage, let me teach you how to get redneck, New York City,” and went on to sing Gretchen Wilson’s “Redneck Woman.”

She will have the chance to travel to Nashville in October to compete at the national finale event in front of Big Machine Label Group’s Scott Borchetta and Brooks and Dunn’s Kix Brooks. The ultimate winner and the nation’s newest Nash Next 2018 star will receive a record deal with Big Machine Label and airplay on Cumulus country stations nationwide!

Nash Next 2018

Below is a list of the semi-finalists who performed last night as well as links to their Instagram platforms. Be sure to check them out and support your local New York area artists!

Chloe Collins

Country Fresh

Courtney Graf

Jeanna Lewis

Lauren Davidson

Lyssa Coulter

Nikki Dee

October Rose

Patrick Darrah

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