Initial Thoughts on New CBS Country Music Series “The Road”
Network television and the exposure it can confer isn’t what it once was, similar to the footprint of the careers of guys like Blake Shelton and Keith Urban. But that doesn’t mean the exposure is insignificant, and that it can’t hold sway over a set of consumers who might otherwise not be exposed to better options in the country music space.
On Sunday (8-19), the opening episode of the new CBS reality TV series The Road premiered, giving some very worthy talent network television face time in a way that can only be good. The show cast a dozen independent and up-and-coming country artists competing for an opportunity to open for Keith Urban, play the Stagecoach Festival in California, and win $250,000.
Far and away the best part of the show is the twelve contestants they picked to compete. This includes Adam Sanders, Billie Jo Jones, Blaine Bailey, Briana Adams, Britnee Kellogg, Cassidy Daniels, Channing Wilson, Cody Hibbard, Forrest McCurren, Jenny Tolman, Jon Wood and Olivia Harms.
Blaine Bailey is a Native American songwriter from Oklahoma whose debut album Home was featured here at Saving Country Music in 2024 and became a fan favorite. Channing Wilson is a hard-charging Outlaw country performer and songwriter who’s had tracks recorded by Luke Combs and others. His 2023 album Dead Man was also a fan favorite here at SCM. And Jenny Tolman’s 2022 album Married in a Honky Tonk might be the best mix of contemporary and traditional country in years.
Other artists previously mentioned here at Saving Country Music include Oregon’s Olivia Harms and Oklahoma’s Cody Hibbard. Unquestionably, whoever chose the talent for this competition had their ear to the ground and found some deserving names to feature. It’s also heartening to see some older artists featured, artists from all around the country, and women worthy of recognition, including two mothers.
The problem with The Road is the way this show was configured to judge these worthy contestants.
The stars hosting the show are Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, and Gretchen Wilson, who are very much creatures of mainstream pop country (and of years past), while the majority of the contestants are more traditional country, and singer/songwriter types. Who gets to choose who moves on, and who gets eliminated each week? It’s the fans of Keith Urban in the audience, voting on their phones. That means you have fans of very contemporary pop country judging traditional country performers and songwriters.
That really is the show’s biggest flaw, while fans of performers like Channing Wilson, Blaine Bailey, etc. aren’t really going to want to sit through a show featuring Keith Urban and Blake Shelton. You can understand why CBS was like, “We need names America will recognize for this show.” There is definitely a boomer, network TV energy to The Road. Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, Landman, etc.) is named as the executive producer—if he in fact Sheridan is anything more than a figurehead.
The debut episode of the show also did a good job explaining how hard it is for a touring musician, why you really have to be wired for the road and hear it as a calling to make it as a musician, any why being able to make it on the road is imperative to be a music performer. “The Road” really is what separates the wheat from the chaff.
Because the first episode shot in Fort Worth had to squeeze in introducing the show’s premise, the twelve contestants, and performances, it felt pretty frenetic. But this should even out as the series goes on. It’s also fair to point out that similar to The Voice, American Idol, and America’s Got Talent, in the internet/TikTok age, these shows have failed to actually launch talent beyond the shows themselves. But who knows, maybe The Road will be different.
The show is just getting started, so we’ll have to see if it takes off. Along with airing Sunday nights on CBS, it is also available on demand on Paramount+, and the first episode is available in full on YouTube (see above).
***SPOILER ALERT***SPOILER ALERT***
On the first episode, the first contestant to be eliminated was Oklahoma’s Blaine Bailey, who just released a really good album called Indian Country. Bailey is a great new Native American country artist who was one of the most interesting characters on the show. But a show like The Road is just not going to know what to do with a character like Blaine Bailey.
One of the other bottom three for the week was Forrest McCurren, who is a signer/songwriter from Missouri strongly influenced by John Prine. This show is going to eat these folks up, not because their talent isn’t commensurate with the other contestants, but because it’s Keith Urban fans who are judging them. These fans aren’t going to be listening for the nuance in the lyricism. They want to waive their arms in the air like they just don’t care, and be entertained.
This is also going to give a big advantage to guys like Adam Sanders and Cody Hibbard, who bring more of that mainstream crowd-pleasing attitude to their music. Along with Cassidy Daniels who had an excellent performance, they made it into the Top 3 performers for the first show.
Another artist who had a standout performance and seemed to make a big impression was Channing Wilson who performed his epic, heart-pounding song “Blues Comin’ On.” But as Channing remarked on the episode himself, to woo Keith Urban fans, he’s going to need to bring more up-tempo music as the show progresses.
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October 22, 2025 @ 11:24 am
The judging was my big issue with the show also. I don’t trust the crowd at a Keith Urban show to make these calls. That’s why they ate up the guy who did his song about being country and backroads and trucks and all that mess.
At this point, I’m less looking at it as being a star making vehicle for any contestant but hopefully it’ll give these quality folks on the show a few new sets of eyes.
October 22, 2025 @ 4:13 pm
I love the concept; however, judging will be the issue because music is subjective, and the ever-changing audience medium could prove detrimental to the performer(s).
October 22, 2025 @ 11:32 am
Trigger, thank you for the spoiler alert and glad I read it. If Blaine is already gone then I’ll pass, tells me all I need to know about this show. Hard to believe he is the least talented on the entire show. Hopefully it’s a launching pad for him.
October 22, 2025 @ 1:39 pm
Wasn’t that he wasn’t talented. I think singing a song calling people pale-faces and how they took the land didn’t sit well with the cowboys/cowgirls in Texas. He was good, and I liked him, but he just sang a controversial song and they didnt appreciate it.
October 22, 2025 @ 2:16 pm
100%. You need to know your audience. To be honest – that song wouldn’t have worked at a Strait, Jackson or Zach Top show either. Nothing to do with Urban. I watched the show and even myself, who despises anything Keith Urban after his first album, was thinking WTF is this.
That all being said, Channing Wilson will win this whole thing.
October 22, 2025 @ 2:19 pm
I think you’re giving Keith Urban fans way too much credit for listening, let alone understanding that song.
And a lot of cowboys/cowgirls have sympathy for the plight of the American Indian. Ask Johnny Cash, Marty Stuart, Waylon Jennings, and so on.
October 23, 2025 @ 11:15 am
It was a silly song and choice.
His tribe took the land from another tribe.
He earned his early exit.
October 22, 2025 @ 4:05 pm
Blaine wasn’t the “least” talented. He just didn’t get enough votes to move on, which was too bad because he was good. Very good.
October 22, 2025 @ 3:12 pm
I enjoyed it immensely. The fact that they actually got a variety of country artists stood out. None of these folks would make it on the Voice or Idol and that’s a compliment. Quite a few stood out. the audience isn’t just Urban fans. Perhaps some should watch it instead of judging it.. Oh and Sheridan is a producer and shows up later in series.
October 22, 2025 @ 3:32 pm
The subheading for the show reads, “The Road follows 12 emerging musicians as they compete as opening acts for Grammy® Award winner Keith Urban at music venues nationwide.” Yes, I am sure there are others in the audience that are not specifically Keith Urban fans. But I think it’s fair to say the majority of the audience is Keith Urban fans. And since it’s the live audience that votes as opposed to folks at home or a panel of judges, it does seem like the Keith Urban fan base will have an outsized influence on the outcomes.
October 23, 2025 @ 10:04 am
How the live audience is signed up is also an influence.
If the audience recruiting is marketed as “Be a part of The Road, Keith Urban’s show…” then yeah it’ll likely be mostly Keith Urban fans.
If the audience recruiting is “interested in a free show for country’s next reality competition tv show” you should have a more varied audience, but one that would generally be more in line with radio country.
October 23, 2025 @ 11:46 am
As Keith Urban himself describes it, the audience is “local people that have come to the club, that really have come to see me play because I’m going to finish each night with a set on my own. And really what they’re doing is coming out and being my opening act.”
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/co3ekhkHMqo
October 22, 2025 @ 9:07 pm
The only problem with this concept is Keith Urban is not a country artist he’s a pop rock adult contemporary artist there’s nothing country about Keith Urban
October 23, 2025 @ 9:02 am
Has Keith Urban been relevant in a while? I don’t really follow mainstream country but I don’t remember the last time he had a huge hit
October 23, 2025 @ 4:29 pm
I JUST COULD NOT GET INTO IT.
IT WOULDN’T HOLD MY INTEREST. I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY I GUESS BECAUSE I LIKE TO GET TO KNOW THE PEOPLE A LITTLE MORE LIKE YOU DO ON THE OTHER SHOWS LIKE THIS.
October 22, 2025 @ 11:24 pm
I’ve not had a chance to watch it yet but as they rejected Chief’s own Shelby Lee Lowe I’m expecting the standard of acts to be very high.
October 23, 2025 @ 2:45 am
People, the contest is to be an opening act for Keith Urban so of course they’re going to need to appeal to Keith Urban fans. They’re being judge not only on their musical talent, they are being judged by the energy and vibe they bring to the venue and the appeal of a crowd that is ultimately coming to see Urban perform.
October 23, 2025 @ 7:23 am
The problem is not necessarily the premise of the show as searching for Keith Urban’s opener. The issue is they did not really book the kind of pop country up-and-coming acts that would appeal to Keith Urban’s crowd. They book more traditional country acts, and singer/songwriters. There are a couple of artists that are more Keith Urban-sounding. But that’s the problem, the incongruent nature between what they’re looking for, and who the contestants are.
October 23, 2025 @ 3:07 am
I enjoyed the show and will continue to watch
October 23, 2025 @ 3:46 am
Give Gretchen Wilson more air time. She at least seemed interested in the singers. I was left disappointed. I wanted more singing and less background and invaluable comments from Keith urban and Blake Shelton. They need to redo the format of the show so it’s more captivating and interesting. Right now it’s a snooze fest.
October 23, 2025 @ 7:26 am
As contestants get eliminated, more time will be spent on each one, and Gretchen will probably be featured more. The first episode definitely felt like you were watching sausage getting made since they had to run through a dozen contestants and introduce them. Not saying the rest of the show will not be boring. It might be. But my guess is as they eliminate folks, this will open the show up to more interesting moments. Or not.
October 23, 2025 @ 3:52 am
I’m not a Keith Urban fan, and I can’t think of any friends/family who would consider themselves fans either. I’m leading with that to say this point isn’t personal at all.
It strikes me that the attitude you’re taking towards Keith Urban fans here, Trigger, seems similar to the attitude you and others in the comments section often accuse mainstream media/culture of taking towards country fans broadly: dismissive and looking down on them.
I’m not saying you’re right or wrong. The similarity just struck me while reading the article. Curious your thoughts and appreciate your work as always!
October 23, 2025 @ 7:30 am
My issue isn’t really with Keith Urban fans directly. It’s that the artists they booked to compete on the show are the kinds you would read about here at Saving Country Music (with a couple of exceptions), but the people judging the contest are the kinds that listen to Keith Urban. It Keith Urban fans were judging pop country up-and-comers, that would make sense. This doesn’t to me. That doesn’t mean there isn’t universal talent that can still shine through. We’ll just have to see where things progress. But that is my concern for the show.
October 23, 2025 @ 9:13 am
I think you’re probably right as a general rule, but I admit to being an Urban fan (specifically of his earlier work and his musicianship) and I am drawn more towards traditional country artists – and I think there are at least SOME others out there like me.
October 23, 2025 @ 11:50 am
There definitely is going to be some overlap with Keith Urban fans and more traditional country fans, or even fans of strong songwriting. I don’t mean to completely discount Keith Urban fans as being incapable of judging talent. But I do think we should all be clear-eyed about who is judging these artists and performances.
Also, I personally want to see this show succeed, if for no other reason than the talent that’s competing. I want this to be a forum to highlight this important talent. That’s why I covered the initial episode, and might cover the future ones. If it was a bunch of pop country talent, I might not even pay attention to it at all.
October 23, 2025 @ 9:28 am
Keith Urban is a missing link between modern pop country and 90’s country. The Comedy equivalent would be Howie Mandel. He’s accessible to the young and old and not that offensive to anyone. Mutliple people I know who like Keith Urban are sorta into older country and sorta into some modern traditional-sounding country – they aren’t strictly in one box. They like some good music and some shit music.
October 23, 2025 @ 3:52 am
I would actually listen to the storyteller dude. He has a great sound. Unfortunately he won’t win because people judge and usually what is popular sucks.
October 23, 2025 @ 5:06 am
Agreed but if he’s on Spotify hes picked up a fan off the show
October 23, 2025 @ 5:00 am
This is a great writeup Trigger. They chose great contestants who represent a top echelon of up and coming contestants and paired them with ridiculously only Nashville pop country big names, and not even ones like stapleton (who admittedly probably doesnt have the time) whose writing and connections span different country styles.
I think where they get something wrong compared to American Idol etc. Is AI paired famous names with judges who actually know something and weren’t household names at first. In that regard my proposed solution is, its Tyler Sheridan, he has a great ear but he also has access to someone like Ryan Bingham, why not put him on as a judge.
In reality what I will do is look at an artist like Blaine Bailey (who i missed last year) and ighers music and start following them now. Couldn’t really do that when american idol started pre pre pre spotify.
October 23, 2025 @ 5:45 am
I’ve been a fan of Olivia Harms for a few years now, and really liked her debut album. Being from Oregon, now Texas, it was hard for her to get any attention in the traditional country market. So when she announced she would be on the show I was excited for her that she will be getting some national recognition. As Trigger mentioned, is was a nice surprise to see some other familiar names to SCM followers, especially Channing Wilson who also had a very good debut album.
I set the show to record after Olivia announced she would be on the show, but haven’t yet gotten a chance to sit down and watch it. Beyond the expected cheesiness of a Hollywood production, I’m still hoping to catch some good performances from these artists, and hopefully the artists will get some need attention.
If you can’t get yourself to sit through Blake and Keith and the lameness of TV talent shows, I hope some of the SCM readers who haven’t heard of Olivia Harms will go and check out her music. She’s one of the good ones, both as an artist and person.
October 23, 2025 @ 7:20 am
Keith Urban takes private jets to his concerts. His band takes the bus.
October 23, 2025 @ 8:10 am
Who cares
October 23, 2025 @ 8:57 am
…ummmm the show is titled ‘The Road’ and the imagery includes Keith Urban standing by a tour bus.
October 24, 2025 @ 10:39 am
Yeah Strait, I had to laugh as I watched ep.1 last night (thanks for putting it on here Trig). I thought I heard Urban saying something like “Ya know how tough it is being in a tour bus on the road?” My first thought was, 99% of the independent artists we love on here can only dream of touring in a bus, and although I’m sure Keith has done his time in one way back, he only sees them in his arena parking lot now. “Tour bus level” is a major rung on the ladder for artists, and a weekly/monthly rental + driver is not cheap, so you better be able to afford that luxury. I’d rather watch The Hook with Trig and Cannon than the Urban and Shelton show. I know you’re working on it Trigger???
October 24, 2025 @ 11:10 am
I’m sure Keith Urban and Blake Shelton haven’t spent significant time on a tour bus in years, though sometimes they still use them as green rooms at festivals and tour stops, etc. But I also have no doubt that both Blake and Keith paid their dues out on the road early on, because when they were coming up, you had no other choice. So they’re not necessarily unqualified to speak on the matter, even if they’re far removed from it now.
And yes, as JB-Chicago points out, graduating to the tour bus is a HUGE deal for a band, and doesn’t happen easily at all. Then a band often has to get to two tour buses and a semi before airline travel becomes a regular occurrence.
I’ve seen a few folks compare “The Road” with “The Hook.” I don’t really think the two concepts are even really in the same universe, though if Taylor Sheridan wanted to show up and backstop what we’re trying to do, I’d be more than happy to add him as an Executive Producer. Putting a full camera crew in a room has proven to be an extremely heavy lift. But we’re making it happen, slowly but surely.
October 23, 2025 @ 8:09 am
I thought the show was very disorganized. Couldn’t make heads or tails out of it. I guess comparing it to the voice Blake do better!!
October 23, 2025 @ 10:34 am
i hope very artist gets a boost out of this show but i want watcha thing where Keith Urban’s fans judge someone like Channing Wilson. Probably it’s not available in europe anyway.
October 23, 2025 @ 11:19 am
This is actually pretty cool if you understand that it’s a race to the bottom. I’ve no doubt that Blaine was the best of the dozen, new album is 11/10… can’t wait to hear who gets dinged next week 🤣
October 24, 2025 @ 1:52 am
I didn’t really care for the format of the show. It wasn’t very interesting. I just couldn’t get into how fast it was going and was really kind of boring. No one actually stood out as different except Blaine and he is gone.
Not sure I will watch it again. I believe it would of been better if the people just came out and introduced themselves.and sing. Then Blake, Keith and Gretchen could of talked about each singer and then checked who was at the bottom, at the end of all of them performing.
I didn’t exactly like the idea that the crowd was there just to see Keith. That makes the show one sided in being in favor of his fan base. I actually just started to fast forward through it. Most likely the people who are going to watch this, will be there just waiting to watch Keith’s free performance. I will just wait and watch the finale and see who wins. I just can’t get into the format of the whole show. But that is what makes America great…everyone can have an opinion.
October 24, 2025 @ 6:09 am
I see the show as a platform for the artists and to get additional exposure and a great networking opportunity. I watched the show and found my favorite handful of artists to follow on Spotify, socials, and go see live in concert. My two favorites: Channing Wilson who I remember from the loaded lineup of Sequestered Songwriters – loved that platform that Courtney Patton and Jason Eady created. Briana Adams who I’ve seen live twice before the show and once after the show premiered – I think she has a amazing voice!
Also I think the fan judges provide the votes and then Urban, Shelton, Wilson, etc. pick the one of the bottom 3 that actually goes home.
I’m thankful for the platform for the artists I like….. also I think it’s on Paramount+ so it is available in Europe for the comment I saw about that.
October 24, 2025 @ 10:28 am
I found it extremely boring Did not like it.
October 24, 2025 @ 10:45 am
This show is meant and filmed in a way that is only for the people at the show in that room.
The people at home only get a glimpse. We didn’t see full performances we got small parts and their back story. This should have been a two part show or something. Give the full back story and full performance for each person.
Pre-existing fans of the participants might be able to support from home but anyone not connected to them in anyway is going to have a hard time connecting.
Bad enough the are competing with Sunday night football. The road may be cut short.
October 26, 2025 @ 6:49 am
Maybe because we prerecorded it, but our sound for the show was extremely unbalanced. The actual performances of the singers were much too soft to hear well compared to the background stories, “judges” comments, & even commercials! Had to keep adjusting volume levels – very annoying. Will not continue to watch if 2nd Ep. not better.
October 26, 2025 @ 7:25 pm
As much as I love Keith Urban and Blake. Shelton, this new show is a flop. I don’t want to see a documentary about upcoming stars and hear a spot or a clip of a song Here and there. That’s silly, keep that off TV.
That’s not a show, it doesn’t make sense
January 25, 2026 @ 1:22 pm
Will not watch another season. Cassidy killed it constantly but ended up 3rd. I call BS. It was decided who would win and you will never convince me people who loved her performance at the Rhyman voted the 2 men higher. They were good but but had limited areas of voice fit where Cassidy could go any direction. So I hate scripted shows!