Growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, my high school was split into two camps: people who loved every type of music except for country, and people who listened almost exclusively to country. I resonated most with the former, primarily because my perception of country music was totally warped. The country my peers enjoyed was dominated by male artists, with songs centering around drinking beer and driving pickup trucks down a backroad. They weren’t topics I could relate to, and so I found myself frequently writing off the genre as a whole.
That is, until I decided to go to college in the South.
Living on a large SEC campus in the middle of South Carolina, I was bound to be exposed to a wider variety of music than I was at home, and country music was no exception. Whether through recommendations from my southern friends and roommates or simply songs heard while passing through campus on my way to class, my country music horizons were significantly broadened, and I began to truly love what I now know to be a vast and varied genre of music. These artists and their music helped open my mind to what country music really sounds like; give them a listen and you might just find yourself dusting off your cowgirl boots once again.
Kacey Musgraves
I first heard of Kacey Musgraves after her album Golden Hour won Album of the Year at the 2019 Grammy Awards, and not long after, I realized that the album’s accolades were not unearned. Golden Hour’s tracks range from sweet love songs like “Butterflies” and “Love is a Wild Thing” to more emotional ballads like “Space Cowboy” and “Rainbow.” There are plenty of songs to love elsewhere in Musgraves’ discography, such as “Merry Go ‘Round” and “Follow Your Arrow” from her debut album Same Trailer, Different Park and “breadwinner” and “justified” from star-crossed, her poppy follow-up to Golden Hour. More recently, Musgraves released a new album Deeper Well that is overflowing with instrumentally simplistic but lyrically beautiful songs like “The Architect” and “Sway.”
Tyler Childers
Childers is a country artist that I had not even heard of before arriving on my college campus. I specifically remember one of my friends showing me his song “Feathered Indians” while sitting in my freshman year dorm room. In a genre that I previously viewed as portraying relationships rather derisively, I instantly fell in love with the song’s twangy vocals and the romantic and anecdotal lyrics. Childers’ music has a more laid back and folkier tone than some other country songs you may hear on the radio; “Charleston Girl” prominently features a banjo in its instrumentals, while Childers’ voice oscillates between exclamations of love to reverent whispers on “Lady May.” His discography includes some more fast-paced songs as well, such as “All Your’n,” “House Fire,” and “Whitehouse Road.” If you are looking for a refreshing and poetic take on country love songs, Childers’ music is the way to go.
Taylor Swift
Though today Taylor Swift is a household name known for her catchy pop hooks and refreshingly honest songwriting, her first foray into the music industry was as a country artist. While it’s likely that you may have blasted “You Belong With Me” or “Our Song” over your car speakers, Swift’s country catalog has many hidden gems. “Highway Don’t Care,” her collaboration with Tim McGraw and Keith Urban, is quintessential country listening, and her sophomore album Fearless is full of anthems like “Forever and Always,” “The Other Side of the Door,” “Tell Me Why,” and “Jump Then Fall.” Swift has been returning to her country roots as she rerecords her first six albums, including some new songs from the vault such as “We Were Happy” from Fearless (Taylor’s Version), “I Bet You Think About Me” from Red (Taylor’s Version), and “When Emma Falls in Love” from Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).
Zach Bryan
While Zach Bryan is one of the biggest names in country music right now, his honest songwriting and emotionally raw vocals make him a standout compared to his predecessors of the genre’s chart-toppers. During my freshman year, it felt like I heard his song “Something in the Orange” everywhere I went, and I soon found myself enjoying its dramatic melodies and diving deeper into Bryan’s discography. Some of my favorites include “Happy Instead” and “Heavy Eyes” from his album American Heartbreak. Bryan’s catalog displays a wide range of emotions, from the upbeat “Revival” to mellow tracks like “Oklahoma Smokeshow” and “Deep Satin.” Bryan has collaborated with a variety of artists as well, from his duets with Kacey Musgraves on “I Remember Everything” and Maggie Rogers on “Dawns” to folkier songs like “Sarah’s Place” with Noah Kahan, “Boys of Faith” with Bon Iver, and “Spotless” with The Lumineers.
Kelsea Ballerini
Kelsea Ballerini has cemented herself as one of the leading women in country music, and for good reason. I was first introduced to Ballerin back in the 2010s when her music was being advertised as Disney Channel — which goes to show just how long she has been in the business and how impressive the trajectory of her career has been. I found her songs “Dibs” and “Peter Pan” off of her debut album The First Time catchy and captivating. Later on, I would enjoy her more mature hits like “Miss Me More,” the perfect country breakup anthem and “hole in the bottle” from her self-titled album kelsea. If you’re looking to explore Ballerini’s more recent releases, her album SUBJECT TO CHANGE is full of fun tracks like “IF YOU GO DOWN (I’M GOING DOWN TOO)” and “HEARTFIRST.” Also, try out her Grammy-nominated EP Rolling Up The Welcome Mat, which includes some of Ballerini’s more vulnerable songs like “Just Married” and “Penthouse” while seamlessly blending elements of both pop and country to make for a satisfying listening experience.