Even though I love blasting Mo Bamba on high as much as the next guy, I definitely think that there is a diamond-in-the-rough beauty about country music that many people fail to realize. I’m not saying that you have to move down south or buy Faster Horses tickets ASAP, but let me explain why country music is the key to basically any problem that you could have.
First, it’s safe to say that country music is one of the few genres that is socially acceptable to play in a professional setting. Seriously, think about it. Have you ever been to a dentist office and heard straight screamo or Chance the Rapper? No, because these genres have their specific time and place to be heard. Most recent country music, however, is light enough to be generally accepted as background music in most places. My family always turns on country music when cleaning the house, don’t ask me why. Whenever we’re in the car and can’t decide on a radio station to listen to (remember those??), we usually settle on country as an even, middle ground.
Feeling down about your love life? Google pictures of Thomas Rhett, I promise that you won’t regret it. Something about him just gets me going. If you haven’t bawled your eyes out to him singing Marry Me thinking “how on earth can someone break this man’s beautiful heart!?”, it’s definitely a Nicholas Sparks type of romance song you need to experience. Go even deeper, you’ve got Like I Loved You by Brett Young, One Number Away by Luke Combs, Woke Up in Nashville by Seth Ennis, or Break Up In the End by Cole Swindell. Or maybe you want to kick it back a bit and dive into Taylor Swift’s country heartbreak roots, whatever works.
Are you instead head over heels about the love of your life? Dan + Shay. They have a way with words that I literally cannot get enough of. If you don’t believe me, listen to Speechless, From the Ground Up, and Island Time and get back to me. Not a fan? Try I Don’t Know About You by Chris Lane. Or how about You Make It Easy by Jason Aldean, In Case You Didn’t Know by Brett Young, or God, Your Mama, and Me by Florida Georgia Line. There’s a reason these songs are a hot commodity at weddings–they’re raw and bring out feelings you never thought you had.
Feeling nostalgic about your hometown and all the things that made up your childhood? The beautiful thing about most country music is that it describes real experiences and feelings that we can relate to. Hometown by Kane Brown, Humble and Kind by Tim McGraw, My Town by Dylan Scott, and Five More Minutes by Scotty McCreery all talk about the little things we experience that can take you back to those happy (or sad??) moments and places.
Need a banger to get your day started? Country music honestly has it all. I’ll stop all you critics now by admitting that some of these are borderline country pop, but it is what it is. My personal favorites for getting hype are Round the Clock and Stupid Love by Dan + Shay, Renegades and Crash and Burn by Thomas Rhett, and Singles You Up by Jordan Davis. My other picks would probably include Love Ain’t by Eli Young Band and Don’t It by Billy Currington. There’s literally a country song for everything and I’m having so much trouble just picking a few to highlight.
And if that’s not enough to convince you, country music has that constant reminder of summer–being warm, on the beach, and with your favorite people. How can you go an entire summer in Michigan without busting out a little Kid Rock? Where I’m from, it’s expected that you’re willing and able to belt out any of his more popular songs, and it’s just something that brings us all together.