Country Music’s Future

THE SEVEN-PIECE COUNTRY BAND ONSTAGE IS REHEARSING A MIX OF covers and originals during their sound check this afternoon at the 700-seat auditorium in Las Vegas, New Mexico. They kick off with Loretta Lynn’s “You’re Lookin’ at Country,” followed by Patsy Montana’s “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart.”

Right up front at the microphone, calling out the tunes, is the band’s main attraction. She stands just 4-foot-11 without boots, with a head of long, dark ringlets’s 2018 winner Chevel Shepherd is the night’s headliner. She’s got a classic honky-tonk sound with a strong, raspy voice that projects. And she’s not holding back, even though this is just a rehearsal. “Let’s do your song,” she tells lead guitarist Garrett Young. They launch into an original country-rocker called “Get Gone.”