Carly Pearce

Country music runs deep in Carly Pearce’s blood, and it’s easy to hear that in her songs, which blend subtle, modern pop sensibilities with rootsy, traditional-sounding arrangements. Born Carly Slusser in Kentucky in 1990, Pearce has been making music since she was a kid. She was touring bluegrass tunes at the age of 11 and left Kentucky at 16 to play relentlessly as a Dollywood performer. She hit Nashville at 19 and broke through in the mid-2010s with a blend of old-school songwriting and lyrics that spoke to modern womanhood. Her earthy, powerful vocal delivery lends a compelling gravitas to tunes like 2017’s devastating “If My Name Was Whiskey”, 2019’s fiery Lee Brice duet “I Hope You’re Happy Now” and 2024's soul-crushing collaboration with Chris Stapleton “we don’t fight anymore”. But she doesn’t only trade in sad songs—on the lusty “Hide the Wine”, she splashes some figurative cold water on herself to avoid getting seduced by an old flame; the 2020 track “Next Girl” serves as an upbeat warning to the woman her ex is charming next; and the 2024 cut “truck on fire” splits the difference between upbeat and menacing, with Pearce flipping the “liar, liar, pants on fire” taunt to threaten a cheating partner’s prized vehicle.