Rachel Holt

Rachel Holt delivers direct country music that carries an underlying sweetness, drawing it toward pop without loosening its hold on established conventions. That same understated warmth surfaced on her opening album Missin' Home and reached fuller bloom with the June 2024 release of “I Was Gonna Be,” a pro-life ballad that quickly attracted listeners on the right.

She was born in Milan, Indiana, and first sang country songs while still a teenager. At sixteen, and still enrolled in high school, she began offering solo concerts and appearing in theaters throughout Branson, Missouri. Independent singles emerged during this period, among them “It’s Only Dirt” in 2021 and “Middle of July” in 2022.

Shortly after finishing school she joined Nashville’s Baste Records, the label headed by Chris Wallin—who had penned the Montgomery Gentry hits “Something to Be Proud Of” and “My Town” as well as Kenny Chesney’s “Don’t Blink”—in December 2023, when she turned eighteen.

Early the following year she issued Missin' Home, then followed it months later with “I Was Gonna Be,” another Wallin composition. She presented the song across conservative outlets from Fox News to Tim Pool’s podcast, with sponsorship from Patriot Mobile, and the exposure generated strong digital download figures.