NASHVILLE, TENN. – Today GRAMMY® Artist to Watch Kashus Culpepper releases “Cherry Rose,” his most tender statement to date as an artist whose substantial early acclaim continues to build and prove he can deftly mix Americana twang, intimate soul and searing Southern rock. The sweeping piano ballad is featured on his forthcoming debut album Act I, out January 23. Its respective official music video, Act I, Scene 3, directed by Lewis Cater (Kacey Musgraves’ “The Architect”) premieres today.
The Alabama-native chose to record Act I in Muscle Shoals, a decision rooted in both state pride and musical history: “So much history between the soul giants of the world, like Aretha and Wilson Pickett, and then some of my favorite bands, like the Allman Brothers,” Culpepper notes. Today’s release of “Cherry Rose” emerges as a song about people “doing work, just to get by, because they have to,” he explains. The song was cowritten alongside singer-songwriter Mikky Ekko (Rihanna “Stay,” Teddy Swims “Lose Control,” 21 Savage “red sky”) and producer Brian Elmquist.
Ahead of his debut, Culpepper has earned co-signs from icons and musical heroes like Elton John who claimed Kashus is, “if Bill Withers made country music,” [here] and John Mayer who shared he’s “as good as it gets.” Praise is rolling in for the album ahead of its release: Rolling Stone shares “If what we’ve heard so far is any indication, expect 2026 to be a breakthrough year for this Alabama singer;” while Paste concludes that, “the idea that Act I is Culpepper’s debut album is challenging… since he seems like one of those inevitable artists who has always been;” Nashville Lifestyles calls the debut “a blockbuster… the scene-stealing talent is just getting started;” and Parade logs the album as one of the five most highly anticipated country albums of the year.
Prior to “Cherry Rose” Culpepper released a string of album singles that have caught the ears of listeners and critics alike – most recent “In Her Eyes” is a “Song You Need To Know” according to Rolling Stone and one of Billboard‘s “Must-Hear New Country Songs,” “tightly crafted” (Country Central) “Mean To Me” and Americana radio No. 1 “Believe.” On the album, Kashus is joined by GRAMMY® recognized collaborators Sierra Ferrell (“Broken Wing Bird”) and Marcus King (“Southern Man”).
This year Culpepper hits the road for headliners in New York, Boston, Nashville and more amidst dates in Australia with Wyatt Flores and an opening slot supporting Eric Church. With a busy year ahead in 2026, Culpepper’s 2025 gained him recognition as one of GRAMMY.com’s 25 Artists to Watch in 2025, Apple Music Zane Lowe’s 25 Artists for ’25, 2025 Variety Power of Young Hollywood Impact Report, Opry NextStage Class of 2025, Billboard‘s February 2025 Country Rookie of the Month, 2025 Amazon Music Bonfire Artist to Watch, Apple Music’s February 2025 Country Riser of the Month, 2025 Pandora Country Artist to Watch and Martin Artist Showcase Class of 2025.
Act I Tracklist
Intro (Kashus Culpepper, Jordan Dozzi, Jacob Durrett)
Southern Man (feat. Marcus King) (Kashus Culpepper, Bear Rinehart)
Alabama Beauty Queen (Kashus Culpepper, Luke Preston, Diego Urias)
Woman (Kashus Culpepper, Anderson East)
Break Me Like(Kashus Culpepper, Grady Block, Hank Compton)
Believe (Kashus Culpepper, Foy Vance)
Stay(Kashus Culpepper, Jordan Dozzi, Jacob Durrett)
Mean To Me(Kashus Culpepper, Oscar Charles, Diego Urias, Matt Warren)
Broken Wing Bird (feat. Sierra Ferrell)(Kashus Culpepper, Brian Elmquist)
Better Weather(Kashus Culpepper, Luke Preston)
That’s The Feeling(Kashus Culpepper, Brian Elmquist)
Man Of His Word(Kashus Culpepper, Natalie Hemby)
In Her Eyes(Kashus Culpepper, Brent Cobb, Oscar Charles)
Is It True(Kashus Culpepper, Rhett Akins, Rocky Block)
After Me?(Kashus Culpepper, Mark Addison Chandler)
Out Of My Mind (Kashus Culpepper, Brian Elmquist)
House On A Hill(Kashus Culpepper, Rhett Akins, Jimi Bell)
Cherry Rose(Kashus Culpepper, Mikky Ekko, Brian Elmquist)
Italics indicate writing credits
CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR KASHUS CULPEPPER:
“Culpepper offers up his organic sound with a brand of hard-earned, raw realness that can’t be feigned.”
– Billboard
“Kashus Culpepper is turning heads in roots music – and the mainstream.”
– Good Country
“…Culpepper has revived the melodic crooning of ’80s and ’90s country, buoyed by his blues influence…”
– GRAMMY.com
“…his inimitable way, voice full of sandpaper and gravel…”
– No Depression
“His ragged-edged baritone growl could’ve transformed the Delta blues with Howlin’ Wolf in the ’50s, or smoked a brisket with Tom Waits in the ’70s, just as naturally as it fits with Marcus King’s slide guitar and Sierra Ferrell’s vocals featured on next year’s Act I”
– Paste
“…his hauntingly beautiful country-Americana-inspired sound, with a voice that harkens back to yesteryear and a perspective road-worn from gospel singing in his youth, military service as an adult and true-grit living throughout.”
– PEOPLE
“If what we’ve heard so far is any indication, expect 2026 to be a breakthrough year for this Alabama singer.”
– Rolling Stone
“…it’s obvious why his career has been fast-tracked. The handful of songs he’s released so far take a smart, often witty route… performed in a style he classifies as ‘southern sounds’…”
–The Guardian
“Culpepper’s style is measured and soulful, like the best blend of fury and sound.”
Alabama-born country crooner Kashus Culpepper encompasses the sound of the South. A student and reverent purveyor of Southern music – country, soul, blues, folk and rock – Culpepper’s husky, sandpaper growl bellows like a freight train over self-penned stories that are as raw and real as they are haunting. Finding his voice in church as young as five years old, it wasn’t until 2020’s global pandemic that Culpepper went from listener to performer, picking up a guitar and learning cover songs to play at barrack bonfires in Rota, Spain during his deployment with the Navy. Covers soon became originals, and once he landed home on U.S. shores, Kash played dive bars up and down the Mississippi Gulf Coast, making a name for himself with the fresh-yet-reminiscent sound that oozes from his very being. Crashing into prominence, Culpepper sold out headline club shows throughout the South before formally releasing a single song. With Nashville taking notice, Culpepper found a musical home at Big Loud Records and will release his debut album Act I on January 23. Culpepper has joined Leon Bridges, Sierra Ferrell and Darius Rucker on tour – embarking this year on a headlining run as well as dates with Wyatt Flores and Eric Church. Named one of GRAMMY.com‘s 25 Artists to Watch in 2025, Apple Music Zane Lowe’s 25 Artists for ’25, 2025 Variety Power of Young Hollywood Impact Report, Opry NextStage Class of 2025, Billboard‘s February 2025 Country Rookie of the Month, 2025 Amazon Music Bonfire Artist to Watch, Apple Music’s February 2025 Country Riser of the Month, 2025 Pandora Country Artist to Watch and Martin Artist Showcase Class of 2025, Rolling Stone declares: “If what we’ve heard so far is any indication, expect 2026 to be a breakthrough year for this Alabama singer.”
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