Growing up in sunny Ventura, California, country music was always part of my day to day. Sure, I listened to all kinds of music – rock, hip hop, etc. – but the station 100.7 FM was always on. Ventura isn’t a cowboy town, but your average coastal surf town where you can find rodeos, line dancing, and plenty of country music around. While I don’t necessarily blast country music as much as I did when I was younger, it’s always there. Like a pair of Doc Martens – you don’t wear them every day, but you never forget about them.

As a kid, country music was huge. And honestly, I went through a whole phase in middle school where I fully embraced it, boots and all. I literally wore cowboy boots for a whole year like they were going out of style – still crying after all the blisters I got. I would belt out Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” like I’d been through a dozen heartbreaks, even though I was a 10-year-old girl who hadn’t even kissed a boy yet. The point is, country music was everywhere, and I was fully immersed in it, even if I didn’t really understand the lyrics yet.

The thing about country music is that it’s woven into the daily lives of many Americans. It’s not just a genre you listen to on car rides down the highway, but acts as a soundtrack to life. Whether it’s a tailgate before the college football games, the opening song at a rodeo, or a good ol’ classic line dancing bar, country is always there. It’s about the community aspects, storytelling, and about cherishing those feelings we all experience together. Some of my greatest memories as a kid was going to the state fairs, where country music thrived. Sure, the music talks about trucks, beer, and love, but that’s a part of the American experience that’s shared from coast to coast.

As someone who’s lived in three different countries over the past four years, I’ve noticed something: country music is getting popular outside America?? The genre I thought was a U.S. staple is growing globally. People abroad I would meet joked about country music singing about rednecks and beer bellies, but lately, they’re actually… liking it? (gasp, I know!) It’s like people woke up and realized country music isn’t just for truck driving, whiskey drinking, overall-wearing folks. I mean, I’m not a hillbilly, and definitely not a redneck, but that never stopped me from tapping my foot along. It’s everyone’s music now – and it’s a big deal.

More recently, the genre has taken a whole new direction. The top charts aren’t filled with familiar voices like Luke Combs, but are now welcoming names like Shaboozey and Dasha, who aren’t traditionally country at all. So why the shift then? Part of it is that these artists are bringing in a new generational approach to it. People crave something different, and these artists are shaking it up by adding pop and hip hop flares, even though people think they still sound basic (as in me, I am said people). Even Chappell Roan added country-inspired elements to her newest release “The Giver”. But here’s the thing: today’s ‘Top Country Charts’ just don’t itch my brain the same. With artists like Shaboozey and Dasha in the top charts, their sound is far from the twangy, storytelling vibe that pulled me in as a kid. Compared to the songs I grew up with, a lot of them now sound a bit… well, generic. There’s something that the OG artists had – Rascal Flatts, Toby Keith, Gretchen Wilson – that just made their music stay on repeat. Even though I love how country is evolving and welcoming new sounds and artists, there’s a little part of me that misses the older country.

It was Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter (2024) that took people by surprise, with adding unexpected collabs like Post Malone joining in on country and showing that anyone with heart and soul can add to the genre (I’m still obsessed and Cowboy Carter will definitely be on my Spotify Wrapped!). Months after that release, Post Malone released his recently Grammy nominated country album F1​​-Trillion, blending his styles with the OGs like Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton, and Brad Paisley. This fusion feels very intentional showing it’s a reinvention, and reshaping country music to fit into the fast-paces globalized world we live in! Although the genre stayed the same for years, stand out artists like Post Malone are contributing to breaking and rewriting the traditional “rules” bound to the genre. 

Seeing country go global is exciting, as it’s not just American-centric anymore. Country music is getting more international attention, with festivals popping up in Europe, Australia, and South Africa. As much as country is transforming, the old-school vibe is still very much alive! It’s actually not going anywhere. Sure, the genre evolved with pop and rap collaborations, but the heart and soul of singing about the love, loss, and life of the country, will never leave. Now, let’s be honest. Even though I don’t listen to country music on repeat like I used to, it’s still around me. Whenever I hear a country song abroad, it always makes my heart happy, as if I’m getting a little piece of home again. It’s funny how something can become less about the music and more about the culture itself. So, whether you’re a diehard country fan, a casual listener, or someone unfamiliar with the genre, one thing’s for sure: country music is here to stay. Through genre-blending collaborations and international festivals, country remains a universal language of love, loss, and life’s simple pleasures.

Words by Hannah Howard