District 142

“I refuse to be put in a box,” says Tucker Wetmore. “That’s because I’m making my own lane.” Yes, with the monumental success the budding Country superstar has already seen in 2024 alone, it’s safe to say Wetmore’s lane is one in which Country music fans across the globe are eager to join him. On the heels of two mega-streaming debut singles, “Wine Into Whiskey” and “Wind Up Missin’ You,” both of which hit the Billboard Hot 100, Wetmore, who was also named Billboard's May Country Rookie of the Month, is well on the way to becoming one of the year’s certified breakout stars. “It definitely caught me off guard how many people those songs resonated with,” the Washington-born singer-songwriter says of the pair of songs, which combined have already amassed more than 100 million streams on Spotify alone. To date, Wetmore has notched nearly a quarter of a billion career streams. “I knew they were special but I could never have guessed they’d have this kind of weight behind them,” he adds of the two massive singles.

There’s a whole lot that Wetmore better start getting used to: like, say, being mentioned in the same sentence as some of Country’s biggest acts, including Luke Bryan with whom Wetmore is hitting the road with in September on Bryan’s FARM TOUR 2024. Or hearing his fast-rising songs shouted back to him every gig by his ever-growing fanbase. “At my first headline show ever, people were already singing my songs back to me,” he says seemingly still in disbelief. “It was nuts! The past five months have been some of the craziest of my entire life. My entire life has changed.  I can’t really even put it into words.” At CMA Fest 2024, Wetmore’s first official performance reached 10x capacity, nearly shutting down Broadway.

Wetmore signed a major-label record deal this summer with UMG Nashville in partnership with Back Blocks Music. He recently dropped a fiery new single, “What Would You Do?,” and has two songs featured on the star-studded soundtrack of “Twisters” (“Already Had It” and “Steal My Thunder” (with Conner Smith)). With a ton of more music on the way, things may seem a bit surreal at the moment. But make no mistake: the 24-year-old, whose songs reflect his cross-genre musical upbringing, embracing all manners of Country, reggae, rock and hip-hop, albeit anchored by classic Country storytelling, has undoubtedly worked his tail off to get to this point in his life and career. “These last four years weren’t for nothing,” Wetmore says of the arduous yet supremely beneficial time he’s spent in his new adopted home of Nashville, during which he’s signed a publishing deal, written a slew of top-notch songs with accomplished co-writers and solidified himself as one Music City’s most promising young names. “We’ve built the catalog,” the singer-songwriter says with a smile of penning hundreds of songs to date that he’s in the process of whittling down for his debut project.

A self-described “goal-oriented” person, Wetmore has always worked hard to achieve everything he’s gotten in life. Whether it was winning state championships in high school sports or taking to piano at age 11 and quickly finding it a therapeutic refuge, the earnest and thoughtful young man who grew up in the church where his grandfather was a pastor – was raised to understand that work ethic and faith are two of the most important pillars in a meaningful life.

“Everything I have is earned,” Wetmore says without hesitation. “I’ve just always worked my ass off.”

That hard-working streak kicked into high gear when Wetmore’s life took a drastic turn at age 19. Playing football at the time for Montana Technological University, Wetmore began to feel as if his life wasn’t heading in the direction he desired. One evening, he prayed for guidance. Or at least a sign. The next day, on the very first play of football practice, he broke his leg in three places. “At the time it sucked, but it was one of the biggest blessings I’ve ever received in my life,” he says in reflection. Almost immediately, Wetmore decided to leave college, moved home to Kalama, Washington (pop: 2700), and turned to what had always gotten him through tough times: music. “I just started writing a bunch by myself — practicing and learning how to write a song. Learning my voice because I had never really sung before. Learning my sound. I just leaned on music.”

In 2020, at his mom’s suggestion, Wetmore took a trip with her to Nashville to see if it might be a good fit for him to further pursue his musical ambitions. “A couple days into our trip, I remember going to a lake and looking over the city and I was like, ‘I’m gonna do it, mom.’ I got this overwhelming gut feeling that I needed to come here. It’s something I can’t really explain. A month later, I packed up my things and moved to Nashville without knowing anybody, knowing anything about the music industry and moved smack dab in the middle of Nashville and just started meeting people and seeing where that would take me.”

His career quickly took off: after meeting Back Blocks founder  Rakiyah Marshall, he signed a publishing and artist development deal with her company, started writing endlessly with his newfound friends and musical peers and worked his way to where he’s at today.

Which, to be clear, is quite an enviable position: Wetmore is playing a string of high-profile shows this summer and, to hear him tell it, he couldn’t be more thrilled at the prospect.

“Playing shows and touring is what I was born for, truly,” he says proudly. “When I get up onstage, I feel all my worries and all my stresses and all my anxiety go out the window. I can be me and truly me.” 

As for what lies ahead for him for the remainder of 2024, Wetmore, like always, is decisive in his plans: “Play as many shows as I can and release my first project,” he says.

Born and raised in the heartland of North Carolina, 20-year-old Eli Winders is a classic yet fresh voice in Country music. After only having access to music through the radio until his teens, Winders’ musical exploration truly began when he received a phone for his 16th birthday – a gift that opened the door to streaming music for the first time. As he delved into a rich tapestry of melodies and lyrics, he found himself captivated by the timeless sounds of Country music’s golden era and wanting to write songs of his own.

Throughout 2022, Winders dedicated his days to working in a feed mill, attending college classes at night, and scribbling song ideas between it all. His first breakthrough arrived when he began sharing his musical talents online. By posting heartfelt covers and soul-stirring original songs, Winders quickly gained an enthusiastic following, drawing in listeners with his genuine artistry and Carolina charm. In 2023, Winders made his Atlantic/Bad Realm Records debut with the bittersweet “Pack My Hometown”, recorded in Nashville with producer/co-writer Eric Arjes (Tim McGraw, Kane Brown, Eli Young Band) which quickly amassed over 3.5M views on TikTok and 2 million streams across DSPs.