Cole Chaney sees up-close just how critical his home state of Kentucky has been to the country music landscape over the past two decades. He has watched Chris Stapleton, Tyler Childers, and Sturgill Simpson grind their way from bar acts to stadium headliners, largely on the strength of original songwriting and the charisma to win over fans with little help from radio. He has also seen the path they blazed for a generation of singer-songwriters native to the Bluegrass State currently making their own inroads into country music.

He cautions, however, that a suddenly well-worn path is still not an easy one to travel.

“It’s incredibly inspirational,” Chaney tells Rolling Stone . “And, on the other side of the same coin, it’s a ton of pressure. You’ve got massive shoes to fill.”

This week

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