Mariya Stokes is a country artist and songwriter, with a 70s-pop flare. Growing up in the small town of Stavely, Alberta, she has been likened to modern country artists such as Kacey Musgraves and Maren Morris. Currently, Stokes is recording her debut EP with producers Spencer Cheyne and Justin Kudding at OCL Studios in Alberta and will be releasing her first single entitled “Hands On My Body” in summer 2018.

One of her recent show highlights was in January, 2018 when she opened for Leaving Thomas at their EP Release show at the Palace Theatre in Calgary, Alberta. She was also a finalist in the 2017 Country 105 Rising Star Contest at Ranchman’s Cookhouse and Dancehall and gained international recognition when she won two awards for her work, including the “2016 International Modern Country Songwriter of the Year” from the North American Country Music Association Int’l for her song “Detours”.

Stokes is deeply committed to the craft of songwriting and has multiple artists recording and releasing songs that she cowrote, such as Leaving Thomas (Like I Used To), Celia Palli (Paralyzed), and Devin Cooper (Nothing On You – April, 2018). She consistently takes writing trips to Nashville, TN with a commitment to growing her skillset as a writer. In 2015 and 2016, Stokes collaborated with the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre on a project entitled “Shelter From the Storm”, writing original songs, poems and stories that captured the essence of the community with clients of the organization. The project released its second record in June 2016, entitled “Verses Vs. Homelessness”, which featured her song "Lucky".

In August of 2017, Mariya was selected to participate in Canada’s Music Incubator Artist Entrepreneur program in Toronto, honing her craft and learning about the business of music.

HOMETOWN: Stavely

Project WILD Bootcamp song co-write pairing: Nathan Cunningham