By Shayla Terry:

Luverne native, Ryan Waters, said he hopes WLWI’s Nash Next talent competition will make his singer-songwriter dreams come true.

Waters,23, graduated from Luverne High School. While attending LHS, he played the drums in the band.

“My family is really big on instruments,” Waters said.

“I started taking guitar lessons when I was 12 years old.”

The Nash Next competition is sponsored by over 60 country music radio stations nationwide.

“I found out about it from my dad.” Waters said.

“He heard about it on the radio and thought that I should try it.”

Waters has entered the competition through the radio station WLWI-FM, in Montgomery, Alabama.

The contest, which began July 11th, has three challenge phases.

“We’re still in phase one.” Waters said.

“In phase one, you submit an original song and it is voted upon by star ratings.”

Phase two calls to take a song that is not in the country genre, and convert it into a country song. In phase three, contestants are given a phrase to make into a song.

Water, who has only been performing for the past six months, says the experience has been good.

“I’ve been writing songs for the past seven years,” he said.

“I write about everyday experiences.”

“All Nightin’”, Water’s original song, is currently rated among the top three in the contest for the WLWI-FM area. Votes can be cast for Waters by going to www.wlwi.com, and clicking the “Nash Next” icon. Polls for voting in phase one close on Friday, July 29th. Voting for phase two will begin August 1st.

Winners of the challenges will all gather in Nashville for a final televised show in the fall.

“My family has been extremely instrumental to this process,” Waters said. “Without them, none of this happens.”

Water’s original song, “All Nightin’” can be heard on WLWI-FM’s website.