The 2026 Blue Highway Fest Rising Stars Challenge has reached its final stage, with the top two vote-getters now in direct competition for the chance to perform on the festival stage, October 8-11 in Big Stone Gap, VA.
All of the semi-final voting has been online, where visitors to the festival web site were urged to pick among the more than a dozen artists and bands vying for the top spot. Now that it’s down to two, online voting for the winners is open from now until September 22 for you to choose your favorite.
The two remaining finalists are both family bands, Dear Maribella & the Pigkickers, the Trakimowicz family from Wilmington, NC, and The Rice Sisters & Appalachian Skyline, from Madison County in western North Carolina.
Let’s see the videos they had shared in the competition.
First, Love Don’t Wait from the Rice Sisters.
Followed by Sleeping in Seattle from Dear Maribella.
Anyone is welcome to vote, though the festival especially would love to have ticket holders and likely attendees to vote in choosing who they will see on stage next month.
To cast your vote, simply visit the Blue Highway Fest Rising Stars Challenge web site, and follow the instructions on screen.
Best of luck to them both!
