Your friend from New York City is at a Zach Bryan concert, and a girl from New Jersey now goes to the bar in cowboy boots. This scene showcases the powerful comeback of country music.

Uncover the Hidden Stories of Country Music's Revival

Billboard's Top Chart-Topper: Shaboozy's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)"

Against all odds, Shaboozy's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" has managed to stay at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for an extended period, becoming the longest-running chart-topper of the decade. This feat highlights the enduring appeal of country music in the mainstream. Pop artists like Post Malone, Sabrina Carpenter, Zayn Malik, Chappell Roan, Beyoncé, and Lana Del Rey have either released or alluded to releasing country music, indicating a broader trend.But this is just the tip of the iceberg. The national spike in the popularity of country music can be attributed to multiple factors. America's recent political shift to the right has played a role, as has the reclamation of American aesthetics by those who were previously excluded. Streaming platforms and the internet have also provided resources to alternative country artists who might not have had such opportunities through traditional means like a Nashville record label.Country music has always been a genre resistant to change, mainly because it is still driven by radio. Since it is the most listened to music on the radio, large conglomerates that own these stations are often quick to bar any artists from experimenting with the genre. It is also a genre dominated by men, with only 11% of songs played on country stations being made by women in 2022.When I was a kid, my dad would put on the country radio, and there was this overarching "bro country" trend that became unavoidable after 9/11. In the two decades following, country music became more about reactionary politics and the idealized image of the American blue-collar worker rather than the "Two Chords and the Truth" traditionalist era of Hank Williams. "Bro country" refers to country songs about beer, women, and trucks, often sung by men in tank tops, baseball caps, and thousand-dollar cowboy boots. My dad would often say, "Their truck's never seen any mud."Even as overall American culture has moved on from "bro country," country music radio has not. "Texas Hold ‘Em," a single off of Beyoncé's country project, Cowboy Carter, reached the number one spot on the Billboard Country Charts. However, its lack of airplay led to it not receiving any nominations at the Country Music Association Awards. But at the 2025 Grammys, "Texas Hold ‘Em" received nominations for Best Country Music Song, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year. Despite being panned by the Country Music Association, Cowboy Carter became the second most Grammy nominated album of all time, losing only to Michael Jackson's Thriller. Streaming gave Cowboy Carter its popularity, allowing other country artists who don't fit the radio mold to find their niche.Artists like Tyler Childers, Sierra Ferrell, and Kasey Musgraves have recently released widely acclaimed country music. However, due to the political undertones and the vintage country sound in their music, and the lack of the "bro-country" still sought out by radio stations, their music is often not played on the radio. Zach Bryan, a country star who gained popularity on streaming platforms, was shocked that it took Childers 10 years to get his first radio hit with "In Your Love." Meanwhile, songs like Walter Hayes' "Fancy Like" gained Hayes stardom and an Applebee's commercial because of a repetitive shoutout to the chain in the song's lyrics.According to Luminate, 38% of Gen-Z listened to Country Music in 2024, a 10% increase compared to 2022. This increase can be attributed to the reclamation of American aesthetics in popular culture. Western aesthetics are becoming prevalent in every area, from fashion to media.In the past four years, movies and TV shows like The Devil All the Time, Twisters, The Power of the Dog, Yellowstone, and Outer Range have shown an increasing appetite for Western media. I think part of this rise in popularity for Western and American aesthetics is a yearning for a "simpler" past that may not have actually existed. This is why "trad-wife" influencers like Ballerina Farm, Gwen Swinarton, and Jasmine Dinis earn millions of views per video sharing their lives as traditional American housewives and homemakers. It is also why Trump, with his promise to "Make America Great Again," won the 2024 election with the popular vote and is the first Republican to do so since 2004.However, I hope that as Western America returns to the mainstream, it includes people of color and LGBTQ people who have been notoriously excluded from mainstream country music and culture. Country artists new and old are working to reclaim the queer and non-white histories of country music and cowboy culture.In 2019, Orville Peck, a gay artist releasing traditionalist outlaw country, brought out Lavender Country to perform a surprise opening set at his Seattle show. Lavender Country released the first country album to openly address queer identity in 1973. Similarly, Peck worked with Willie Nelson on "Cowboys are Secretly Frequently Fond of Each Other," a cover of Ned Sublette's 1981 song. Nelson also released a cover of this song in 2006 in response to the homophobic backlash to Brokeback Mountain. Along with this, Beyoncé's most recent album, Cowboy Carter, uplifted other Black female country artists. After the release of her first two country singles, "Texas Hold ‘Em" and "16 Carriages," other Black female country artists received an uptick in streams. Tanner Ardell saw an 188% increase in streams in the week following, and Linda Martell, the first Black woman to play the Grand Ole Opry, had a 275% streaming increase in the week following Beyoncé's release.The history of country music is as diverse as America itself, from banjos originating from West Africa to akonting to the fiddle coming over from Ireland. I hope that as the genre expands, it reflects the history that birthed it and that "y’all" really does mean "all."