Every year, since its creation, Country Music France has designated an Artist of the Year. In addition to the Top Albums, Top EPs and Top songs, it’s an important way to reward an artist who standed out particularly all along the year on the country music scene.
This is a recap of Country Music France’s past artists of the year:
- 2018 : Kacey Musgraves
- 2019 : Kylie Rae Harris
- 2020 : Charley Crockett
- 2021 : American Aquarium
- 2022 : Zach Bryan
- 2023 : Gabe Lee
- 2024 : Sierra Ferrell
This blog was created on December of 2017, two months after the release of “A Long Way From Your Heart“, and it’s not a coincidence. Indeed, when I started this website, what I had in mind was writing about the kind of masterpiece that had released Turnpike Troubadours two months before. Social networks were cool, but were not adequate for this purpose. Definitely, I needed more space and more freedom.
Eight years later, the band founded in Tablequah, Oklahoma, released another masterpiece, in April of 2025, “The Price of Admission“, brilliantly teased some weeks before by a billboard located in Stillwater.
After the first listen, I instantly knew that this album would be part of my Turnpike’s favorite records, along with “Diamonds and Gasoline” and “A Long Way From Your Heart“. Evan Felker is actually, more than ever, one of the best american songwriters. RC Edwards, Kyle Nix, Ryan Engleman, Hank Early and Gabriel Pearson are all at their best. Shooter Jennings immersed himself perfectly in Turnpike’s style of music, much more than he did with their first collaboration, for “A Cat in The Rain“. His craft, as a producer, is really impressive. The result is a timeless masterpiece, full of brilliant songs, some of them being instant country and red dirt classics.
This post is not a review, and I won’t list all the gems present on this album. All has been said about the quality of the beautiful and poignant “On the Red River” and “Heaven Passing Through“. Let me just add that “A Lie Agreed Upon“, is, in my opinion, the most underrated gem of this record. This song is, for me, the quintessence of country music. “Ruby Ann” and “The Devil Plies His Trade (Sn 6 Ep 3)” are also masterpieces.
At the end of the year, Turnpike Troubadours released another gem, a wonderful cover of Todd Snider’s “Just Like old Times“, as a tribute to the legendary songwriter.
More than ever, Turnpike Troubadours embody country music, and more specifically the red dirt genre. Their authenticity, the impressive quality of their music and Evan Felker’s talent as a songwriter are the reasons why I chose them as my unquestionable artist of the year. Long live Turnpike Troubadours!
Nicolas Davelu
Country Music France 
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