The Alabama Girl Who Took Country Music by Storm: Getting to Know Hannah McFarland

She was born in Mobile, Alabama, to parents who could not have been more different on paper and more complementary in practice. Her father was a cattleman with a sharp business mind. Her mother was a portrait artist with a deep creative soul. "When you throw that all together you end up with a singer songwriter, somehow," Hannah McFarland has said, laughing. It is a pretty good explanation for what has happened since.

From Mobile to Music City

McFarland grew up immersed in classic country, absorbing the storytelling tradition of Merle Haggard, Alison Krauss, and Keith Whitley, artists who prized the lyrical twist above all else. She wrote her first song at fifteen and has never really stopped. "I've always just loved lyrics. The storytelling behind it," she says. "Even my first song had that kind of twist. It was called 'Broken in Love.' I took it down, it's in the vault now, but it had that hook I loved. I've tried to keep that clever thread in everything I write."

She moved to Nashville in 2016 on a full music scholarship to Lipscomb University, began honing her craft on the live circuit, and eventually caught the ear of Warner Chappell Music and Core Entertainment, inking a joint global publishing deal. Her major-label debut came when she signed to The Core Records and Capitol Records, releasing the single "Hey Highway," which landed on SiriusXM The Highway's On the Horizon.

The Zach Bryan Moment That Changed Everything

Her breakthrough with a broader audience came through a TikTok cover of Zach Bryan's "I Remember Everything." "I fought it for a long time," she has admitted about TikTok. "But once I started sharing my songs and people related to them, I felt seen. I realized other people were going through the same things. That helped me feel more confident putting myself out there." The viral cover led Bryan to invite her to perform the duet live with him in Birmingham, at Legacy Arena, the same venue she has named as the one she most wants to headline on her own terms someday. "I feel like to complete that, I need to sing on that stage, but it needs to be my songs," she told Rockshot Magazine.

A Year of A-List Collaborations

McFarland's debut EP Broken Hearts arrived in February 2025 and immediately earned serious attention, landing on Pandora's Artists to Watch list, NPR's New Music Friday, and Hits Daily Double's New and Developing Artists roundup, joining the ranks of past honorees like Luke Combs and Chris Stapleton. Holler called her "one of country music's quiet geniuses."

The collaborations that followed confirmed the industry was paying close attention. Brett Young reached out to her on Instagram and invited her to record a new version of his multi-platinum hit "In Case You Didn't Know," a song she had been covering in her own early sets. "I woke up one morning to a message on Instagram from him," she recalled. "I didn't know he even knew who I was!" 

She appeared on Riley Green's "I Just Need You," a collaboration described by the Entertainment Focus interviewer as potentially more passionate than "You Look Like You Love Me." And she linked up with Chase Rice for the summer 2025 single "Foolin'," a duet she had always felt the song was destined to become. "I played it to Chase right after we wrote together and asked what he thought," she said. "Later I FaceTimed him and asked if he'd sing on it, and he said, 'Err… I don't care. That doesn't bother me.' Then he was like, 'Dang it Hannah, you know I can't do harmonies, but I'm in.'"

Just this week, Riley Green released his brand new single "Go Again" featuring McFarland, the third track from his upcoming fourth studio album That's Just Me, due September 18. Trading verses from opposite perspectives, the slow-burning duet showcases McFarland's soaring, emotive vocals against Green's low, earthy sound in what is already being called one of 2026's best country collaborations.

The Kip Moore Chapter

The first concert McFarland ever attended was a Kip Moore show. When she eventually found herself on the road with him as a touring act, the full-circle nature of it was not lost on her. Moore first reached out after watching a video of her performing "The Bed I Made," sending a message that said simply, "This is what songwriting's about." Over coffee about two years ago, he told her that when the time was right, he would bring her out on the road. A year and a half later, he made good on that promise. "He's one of the most genuine artists and songwriters I know," she said of Moore. "He doesn't do it for the look. He believes in the song."

Alabama's Moment

McFarland is proud and somewhat amazed to be part of what she sees as a genuine Alabama wave in country music. Alongside Riley Green, Ella Langley, Red Clay Strays, and others, she represents a generation of Gulf Coast talent that has arrived in Nashville with something to say. "We all saw it when we were there and the world is now just getting a look at the amount of talent in that state," she says. "I'm glad that Alabama is having its moment."

Her bucket list item remains singing her own songs on the stage at Legacy Arena in Birmingham. Given everything that has happened in the past year, that moment feels less like a dream and more like a matter of timing. Explore her full bio on our website.