UK-CMA ANNOUNCES COUNTRY CALLING 2026 TAKEOVER LINEUP

The results are officially in for The Road To Country Calling competition, with four outstanding artists selected by the UK-CMA independent panel to perform at the UK-CMA Takeover during Country Calling Festival on Friday 14 August 2026.

Following a two-phase competition process that attracted a strong field of emerging and established talent from across the UK country music scene, the final four artists chosen to perform are:

• Ben Hutchenson

• Buckle N Boots

• Glimtvis

• Kerryl

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Hosted in partnership with the UK-CMA, The Road To Country Calling was created to give independent artists the opportunity to earn a performance slot at one of the UK’s growing country music festivals.

Artists entered the competition by submitting acoustic performances of original songs before progressing to a live performance round judged by an independent industry panel featuring Ray Jones, Blue Foley and Tyler Spicer.

The selected artists will now perform as part of the UK-CMA Takeover session at Kings Farm, Chelmsford, showcasing some of the exciting talent currently emerging within the UK country music community.

The UK-CMA would like to thank every artist who entered the competition. The standard throughout both rounds was incredibly high, making the final decision extremely difficult for the judging panel.

We would also like to thank our judges for giving their time, expertise and support throughout the process.

We look forward to seeing all four artists take the stage at Country Calling this August.