Absolute madness. We’re through the first two rounds of our 2026 Whiskey Riff Madness tournament, and it’s safe to say this is the wildest tournament we’ve seen in the nearly decade that we’ve been doing the annual tournament. In case you’re just getting caught up, this year we took 64 artists from every corner of country music, from mainstream to Texas country to red dirt to Appalachia and everything in between, and we’re letting you vote for your favorite. We based the seeding on monthly Spotify listens so people couldn’t complain that artists were seeded too low or too high (and of course people are still complaining that the seeding is wrong, but that’s baseball I guess). Anyway, the round of 64 saw a record number of votes in the history of Whiskey Riff Madness en route to some stunning upsets – including #16-seed Colby Acuff over #1-seed Chris Stapleton. And the second round got even more crazy. First things first: Once again, you set a record for the most votes EVER in a round of our annual tournament, with well over 13,000 ballots being cast by the time it was all said and done. But there were still some insanely close matchups, including one that was decided by less than 40 votes out of 13k. But first let’s start with the blowouts, which included #14-seed Turnpike Troubadours coming out on top with the largest margin of victory in the round, taking home 76% of the vote against #6-seed HARDY. #12-seed Cody Jinks also blew out #4-seed Luke Bryan with 73% of the vote, and Treaty Oak Revival fans also showed up in a BIG way to push the #7 seed to a blowout over #15-seed Charley Crockett. Then we had a few nail biters, including #9-seed Midland putting up a heck of a fight against #1-seed Luke Combs before ultimately coming up short, as well as #13-seed Sturgill Simpson squeaking out a victory against #12-seed Jamey Johnson in a battle that was back and forth the entire round. The closest matchup of this round, though, came to us from battle between the #1-overall seed Morgan Wallen and #8-seed Hudson Westbrook. Wallen jumped out to an early lead and at one point looked like he might run away with it, but it didn’t take long for Westbrook to battle his way back. And in a battle that went down to the wire and ended up being decided by less than 40 votes… Morgan Wallen FALLS to Hudson Westbrook, who managed to come out on top with 50.2% of the vote. That’s why they call it March Madness, folks. Let’s see, are there any other matchups worth talking about? I’m kidding, we can’t not talk about the Cinderella run that has shocked the internet and created quite the buzz in the country music world: Colby freakin’ Acuff. After rallying the troops and knocking off one of the most decorated artists in country music history, you didn’t really think he was going to be satisfied with just making it through the first round, did you? Because once again, Colby put on the performance of the round, waging a meme campaign for the ages against #9-seed Dierks Bentley: Babe wake up, New Colby video just dropped pic.twitter.com/jVxG1eVqgK — Colby Acuff (@ColbyAcuff) March 25, 2026 And this time Dierks even got in on the fun: Unfortunately for Dierks, the Hot Country Knights fans were no match for a man on a mission, a warrior in the field with CapCut as his sword and a loyal army behind him with their thumbs on the trigger. At the end of the day, Colby once again came out on top, taking down the lead singer of the Hot Country Knights with 67% of the vote. I think it’s fair to ask: Can Colby be considered an underdog at this point? Well things aren’t getting any easier for him, because now that we’re in the Sweet Sixteen, he’s headed to battle with the Red Clay Strays…dare I say this may be his toughest matchup yet? We’ll find out I guess. But it’s hard to bet against him. Anyway, here’s a look at the full bracket so far: And here’s a closer look at each region: South East Midwest West Those are some TOUGH matchups. We’re getting down to the end, so it’s only going to get harder, but Tyler Childers and Shane Smith & the Saints have both won both of their matchups pretty easily and now they’re going head to head. And Zach Top vs. Charles Wesley Godwin is a battle between two of the best in the business right now. I’m glad I’m not the one who has to decide on these… So with that said, voting is open NOW to send your favorite artists to the Elite Eight. You can vote at the link HERE or using the form below. Voting in this round ends on Sunday, March 29 at 11:59 pm central time, and you can vote as many times as you’d like. So rally the fanbases for your favorite artists, because as we saw in the last round, every single vote counts. Loading… And in honor of his Cinderella run this year, we’ve got limited-edition Colby Acuff shirts to celebrate. Get them here – available as long as he’s still in the tournament. Country Music Madness just got a whole lot more interesting. Get your shirts NOW @ColbyAcuff @whiskeyriffshop https://t.co/Nlb3AfyZAC pic.twitter.com/rijXFZ60rM — Whiskey Riff (@WhiskeyRiff) March 25, 2026 The post WHISKEY RIFF MADNESS 2026: Vote NOW To Send Your Favorite Artists To The Elite Eight first appeared on Whiskey Riff.