Hook Ep. 4 Features New Stars, Kerrville Folk Fest Winners

Songwriting showcase The Hook was founded in hopes of giving up-and-coming songwriters with the stuff to blow up big time some of their very first opportunities at a national audience. On the fourth installment of the presentation recorded on May 31st in Austin, multiple artists came forth who very well might fulfill that promise in the future.

The show started off celebrating how co-host Caitlin Cannon was one of the winners of the 2026 Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk competition in 2026. What started with 1,100 total entrants and 2,200 songs was culled down to 26 finalists who all appeared at the legendary festival in Kerrville, TX from May 21st to June 7th. Lo and behold, Caitlin Cannon became one of six total 2026 winners.

The Kerrville New Folk competition has quite the legacy, with previous finalists and winners include Tom Russell, Nanci Griffith, Steve Earle, Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen, Hal Ketchum, James McMurtry, Slaid Cleaves, and more. Caitlin Cannon was a 2026 winner with Hudson Mueller, Stephanie Sammons, Sarah Golden, Helena Hallberg, and Logan Vath.

In a twist of fate, the first randomly-drawn songwriter to perform on the latest episode of The Hook also happened to be a previous Kerrville New Folk winner. Noosa Al-Sarraj, who performs under the name Girl Haggard, came out and stunned the audience with her classic country drinking song “You and Vodka Ruined My Life.” Now working full-time as a lawyer after years as an independent touring artist, Girl Haggard proved why she has a voice the rest of the world deserves to hear.

Another unexpected voice came booming out of Nathan Stevens, who performed his avant-garde and very entertaining song “Esto Les Digo, Baby.” Jason Michael Kelley was a returning performer after playing with his girlfriend Kat on the previous episode. He performed his song “Let Me Go.” And Alex Evans was another returning performer, who stunned on the inaugural episode from Austin with “Southpaw,” and impressed again with her song “Cassandra’s Canaries.”

Aden Rackley is definitely a name you want to bold, underline, follow on social media, or whatever else. He could definitely be one of those performers folks will brag about first seeing on The Hook years from now. Talk about a fetching hook for a song, that’s exactly what Rackley revealed via his excellent country song “Katydid.” Like the young man in his song, Rackley will be going places.

Jake Busby has become a fan favorite and Hook regular over its time in Austin, both as a songwriter, and as a personality. With his mullet extra coiffed, he delivered a growling version of his old song “One Horse Town.” Busby’s aggressiveness was balanced out by folk/old-time/bluegrass artist Long Prairie took the stage to perform her song “Rosie Mae.”

Another performer that left a big impression was Nitin Anish with his song “Broken Parts.” Recently graduated from college and returning to Central Texas, he stunned the audience with his songwriting that mixed a strong melody with interesting composition. He is definitely a performer we could hear more from in the future.

Johnny Ringo just about personified everything “Keep Austin Weird” when he stood up on stage and sang “Blue-Eyed Jesus.” Ringo is sort of a local legend, with guest host Dallas Burrow remembering him from back in the day.

Nobody was better suited to close the episode out than “Chill” Phill Brush, who similar to Jake Busby and others, has become a lovable recurring character on The Hook. He concluded the show with a Jewish spiritual called “Zion Land.”

The other big highlight from The Hook Episode 4 in Austin was special guest performer and panelist Dallas Burrow. Not only did he start off the show with a great and timely performance of his song “Keep On Trying,” he offered stellar insight to the other performers throughout the show. Burrow is sometimes a man of few words, so it was cool to see how insightful he was with his feedback.

The next installment of The Hook happens on Sunday, June 14th from 3:00 – 5:00 pm at Sagebrush in Austin, along with June 21st at Sagebrush as well.

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The Hook is not just for songwriters. Fans of songwriting are also encouraged to stop by. For more information, visit savingcountrymusic.com/thehook. Please subscribe to The Hook’s YouTube Channel, and follow The Hook on Instagram and Facebook.

The Hook is sponsored by Ear Trumpet Labs, Keystone Artist Connect, The Willie Bus, Mule Kick Productions, JWA Media, and Sagebrush.

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