SiriusXM’s Top of the Country finalists chase $25K prize

Shawnee Kish, Morgan Griffiths and Blue Ridge Band open up about chasing their country music dreams — and what comes next

Published Sep 05, 2026  •  Last updated 29 minutes ago  •  6 minute read

Blue Ridge Band, Morgan Griffiths and Shawnee Kish are the three finalists for Sirius XM's Top of the Country. Photo by Sirius XM

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For the three Canadian finalists in SiriusXM’s Top of the Country competition, country music was a calling.

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Indigenous singer-songwriter Shawnee Kish was days away from completing her debut album, last year’s Chapter 1, when she decided to start all over from scratch.

“We have five days left in studio and I thought, ‘I’m hiding from me. I’m hiding myself,’ ” the Edmonton-based Kish said while attending CMA Fest in Nashville earlier this summer. “So I went to my team and said, ‘You’re going to think I’m crazy, but it’s country.’ They believed in me and we went back to the drawing board and ripped things apart.”

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Kish’s music blends contemporary country with the powerhouse vocals of the artists who inspired her, including Shania Twain, Gretchen Wilson and Etta James.

Abbotsford’s Morgan Griffiths brings a modern country sound to his music, drawing on the storytelling of Luke Combs and the vocal firepower of Chris Stapleton.

“I started singing during COVID and I found out that I had a little talent for singing and a passion for country music,” the B.C. singer-songwriter said.

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Led by frontman Jeremy Plante, Quebec’s Blue Ridge Band deliver high-energy country, drawing inspiration from Florida Georgia Line and Morgan Wallen.

“I was a huge Garth Brooks fan. We’ve listened to his shows so many times on the road. That’s how I got my first taste of country music,” he said.

When he started writing songs with Samuel Jalbert-Raymond and Martin Aubin, his fellow members in Blue Ridge Band, Plante said the trio shifted toward country because he loved seeing how the genre had become a melting pot of musical ideas.

“We fell into something we wanted to do,” he said.

Blue Ridge Band’s Jeremy Plante, Martin Aubin and Samuel Jalbert-Raymond. Photo by SiriusXM

Finalists beat out hundreds in hopes of winning $25,000 grand prize

The three finalists beat out hundreds of hopefuls in a bid to land the $25,000 grand prize and the title of Top of the Country champion. The winner will be crowned at this month’s Canadian Country Music Awards in Saskatoon. The two runners-up will each take home $10,000.

The three acts couldn’t be more different musically — Kish is already a four-time Juno nominee whose recent single Ride At Dawn leans into fiery, guitar-driven riffs; Griffiths’ debut radio single, Bourbon, shot to No. 4 on the Billboard Canada Country chart; and Blue Ridge Band’s high-energy performances helped them become finalists at the Boots & Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase and earn the title of Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the Quebec Radio Awards.

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At the CCMAs, Kish, who recently inked a global distribution deal with ADA and Warner Music Canada, is up for Alternative Country Album of the Year, while Griffiths is nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Single of the Year and the Fan Choice Award.

Last year’s winner, Noeline Hofmann, was a rancher in Alberta who caught the ear of country superstar Zach Bryan, who invited her to sing on his Great American Bar Scene LP.

During a visit to Nashville for CMA Fest, where they took part in an artist showcase, Kish, Griffiths and Blue Ridge Band bonded over watching live shows. They regrouped last month when they all took the stage for separate performances at LASSO Montreal.

“I feel like we’re family,” Kish said.

Below, the three acts talk about how they decided to pursue their dreams and where they hope to be in five years.

Sirius’ Top of the Country competition has been running for eight years and attracts musical artists from across Canada. What made you decide to try out?

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Kish: “My wife (retired Olympian Jen Kish) actually submitted me … She is a rugby bronze medallist … I didn’t know she did that. I got a call from the program and they said, ‘Congrats,’ and I was shocked. But this has changed my life. I will never forget this opportunity. Everyone needs a Jen Kish in their life. On the days I think I can’t do it, she always tells me, ‘There’s nobody better.’ To have that person in my life … It gives me purpose.”

Shawnee Kish seen performing at Lasso Montréal. Photo by Thomas Murray Photography /SiriusXM

Griffiths: “I saw it pop up and I thought, ‘I’m going to try out for that.’ I found out I was in the top 8 and that blew my mind. Being in the top 3 was insane.”

Plante: “We’ve been trying to get into Top of the Country for three years now. We already knew it was part of the plan that we wanted to do. The goal we wanted to achieve. To be part of this is pretty surreal.”

When you’re pursuing a career as a musician, I imagine there comes a point where you have to decide to chase after it with all you’ve got. Tell me about that decision.

Kish: “The honest answer to that is, I was struggling … I wasn’t close to my culture … But music gave me purpose. It was the calling beyond me.”

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Griffiths: “It was either, work a 9-to-5 or I do music and 9-to-5 just wasn’t it. I was powder coating before — painting metal. I was doing that, getting dirty all day singing songs in my head. One day I thought, ‘I just want to go headfirst into music.’ So I quit.”

Morgan Griffiths seen performing at Lasso Montréal. Photo by SiriusXM

Plante: “It seemed like I wanted this since I was two years old and creating my own shows in front of my family singing through a toy microphone … I never saw a life where I wasn’t making music.”

When did you realize you could make music for a living?

Kish: “When I was younger and I was a Shania Twain impersonator. It made me have pride to be able to move like her and sing like her … I remember the first time I saw her in concert, I remember thinking, ‘I would give anything to have that sense of self she portrays when she’s singing.’ Watching her now, seeing who she is as a female and owning all of what she is, is incredibly inspiring to see. I hope I can have a career that lasts. I want to be in my 50s, 60s and 70s being onstage and singing with that much pride and sense of self.”

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Griffiths: “I did cover songs and posted them on Facebook. I was super-shy growing up. Kept doing it and people started liking it and then I just threw myself out to bars. Started playing and getting in front of as many people as I could. I did it all. The free ones, ones where I got like 20 bucks … I just kept doing that until I got recognized.”

Plante: “I’ve been playing music with Sam for more than 20 years and when we were younger his mom was doing parties with the entire neighbourhood and that’s how we fell in love with music. We discovered music is a thing that brings people together and we just want to keep going that way. Putting smiles on people’s faces. Making people feel emotion … that’s a feeling that doesn’t compare to anything else.”

Is it scary to chase your dreams?

Kish: “It’s terrifying. I’m scared every day.”

Griffiths: “My fiancée told me not to quit powder coating. I hated it there, too. She was like, ‘Don’t quit, we have kids.’ But as soon as I quit I literally started getting show after show. It just kept going up and up and up … But yeah, it was scary.”

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Plante: “Yeah, but what else are we going to do? We’ve been doing this for 20 years … What else can we do?”

Five years from now, what do you hope to have accomplished?

Kish: “Touring has always been what I love. Connecting through live shows. I just want to be able to tour all-year round.”

Griffiths: “Playing Nissan Stadium would be cool. It’s right across the street. I just love playing and getting out there in front of people.”

Plante: “I want to have done at least one Canadian tour. I want to be a nationally known band.”

The 2026 Canadian Country Music Association Awards airs Saturday, Sept. 19, on CTV.

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