On Oct. 3, country singer and songwriter Zach Bryan shared a preview clip of his unreleased song, “Bad News.” The anti-ICE rhetoric in the song almost immediately stirred strong feelings among both political parties and country music fans. While conservative fans argue that Bryan goes against “true American music” and is anti-patriotic, liberals maintain that country music has always been progressive and diverse. Musicians have used their art for social commentary for decades, so why does speaking up in the country genre have such a significant impact? And what makes Bryan’s clip stand out, prompting even political leaders to comment?
Bryan’s Bad News
The song “Bad News” quickly made waves when Bryan posted the nearly 60-second clip on Instagram, one week after closing out his previous tour, which broke records as the largest ticketed concert in the U.S. Although a video of Bryan singing the song was initially posted on his Instagram account on July 12, it wasn’t until a post of the audio clip released on Oct. 3 that the song received significant media attention.
The clip begins with Bryan describing tensions between young boys and the police. The lyrics that caught fans’ attention include: “And ICE is gonna come bust down your door / Try to build a house no one builds no more / But I got a telephone / Kids are all scared and all alone.” Bryan closes with: “Got some bad news / The fading of the red, white, and blue.”
Although the comment section of this post was not available, people made their opinions of the song known on Bryan’s other posts, as well as on other country music pages. One of these pages was @country_minute, where supporters commented things like, “country music has and always will be grassroots, progressive, and liberal” and “real country is anti-government.” However, backlash also came with comments suggesting Bryan was a toolbox and anti-American.
Talking Politics
However, country music fans weren’t the only people who had something to say. After the October post, both the Department of Homeland Security and White House officials made comments on Bryan’s clip.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem told conservative political commentator Benny Johnson that she hopes Bryan “understands how completely disrespectful that song is, not just to law enforcement, but to this country, to every single individual that has ever stood up and fought for our freedoms.” Noem added that she doesn’t listen to Bryan’s music and that it “makes [her] very happy that [she] never once gave [Bryan] a single penny to enrich [his] lifestyle.”
D.H.S. Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin took a different approach by referencing his past music, telling reporters that Bryan should “Stick to ‘Pink Skies.’” According to the New York Times, the D.H.S. later used Bryan’s song “Revival” in a promotional video, attempting to troll him.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Johnson also referred to Bryan’s music in her statement. Naming five of his songs, Johnson stated, “While Zach Bryan wants to ‘Open The Gates’ to criminal illegal aliens and has ‘Condemned’ heroic ICE officers, ‘Something in the Orange’ tells me a majority of Americans disagree with him and support President Trump’s great American ‘Revival.’ ‘Godspeed,’ Zach!”
But politicians aren’t the only public figures making statements. Right-leaning country musicians have also stated their opinions. Singer John Rich posted on X, “Who’s ready for the Zach Bryan-Dixie Chicks tour?” referring to the female country band now called the Chicks, who called out Former President George W. Bush during his term in office.
Bryan’s Response
Amid the fervent reactions, Bryan took to his Instagram stories to clarify the message of “Bad News.” There, he wrote that the “song is about how much I love this country and everyone in it more than anything” and that upon the release of the whole song, “you will understand the full context that hits on both sides of the aisle.” Bryan added, “Everyone using this now as a weapon is only proving how devastatingly divided we all are.”
In addition to addressing the meaning of “Bad News,” Bryan also defended himself. Reminding the public that he is a veteran, Bryan said, “I love this country and the song itself is about all of us coming out of this divided space,” and that “To be clear, I’m on neither of these radical sides.”
Bryan also touched on First Amendment freedom of speech rights when he said in another story, “I am SO proud to have served in a country where we can speak freely and converse amongst each other without getting doxed or accosted on the internet or worse; the violence and heartbreak we’ve faced in the last few months!”
However, while Bryan’s statement and comments turned off on social media have placated some, others weren’t fans of this behavior. They argued that Bryan was attempting to neutralize tensions to maintain peace with the Trump Administration and its supporters, rather than speaking the truth.
On one of Bryan’s previous posts, one user commented, “We gotta stop glazing this man for doing basically the bare minimum and then quickly backpedaling with the ‘both sides’ post cause he doesn’t want to lose his MAGA fans. If you’re gonna stand up, STAND TF UP.” Others, both liberal and conservative-leaning commentators, remained skeptical of Bryan’s intentions, commenting that his lack of a comment section on the “Bad News” posts illustrated that he couldn’t own up to his actions.
‘True’ American Music
Since the release of the clip, it hasn’t just been Bryan caught in the political debate, but rather country music as a whole. Some supporters of Bryan’s clip claim country music has always been progressive. In contrast, critics claim liberal social commentary doesn’t belong in this Americana genre, and the history of country music easily gets lost. So, what really is country music, and how did it come to be?
University of Central Florida’s Senior Lecturer of Music History, Dr. Joe Gennaro, said “people who listen to it […] want country music to be very American or have a sense of Americana to it.” Country music was popularized in the 1920s, originating in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, around the Tennessee and Virginia area. Gennaro said that at the time, it was initially marketed as “music by and for lower-income whites.” Therefore, during this time period, country music was referred to as “hillbilly” music, while rhythm and blues were considered “race” music.
However, the genre itself comes from the merging of music across continents. Often, country singers were immigrants from Western Europe who created a new sound based on the music of their homelands, incorporating elements of African American and Hispanic music. A mix of folk songs, ballads, rhythm and blues, gospel, and tejano led to the country music we hear today.
Despite the clear racial division in the marketing of country music, Gennaro said White and Black Americans “often played together, or they admired each other’s stylistic tendencies,” and so “they certainly borrowed elements.” While this isn’t to say there wasn’t any blatant racism in the music industry, generally speaking, Gennaro said, “We really can say that the place that was a melting pot for both whites and blacks to assimilate was in a musical environment.” Similar sentiments were conveyed by the musician Ray Benson when he said country music is “Everything about the immigrant experience brought to America and Americanized.” Thus, Gennaro argues that if something “doesn’t check the boxes of something that is hybrid, then it’s not American in some ways.”
Musical hybridness isn’t exclusive to race or ethnicity. Given that the American political system stems from a desire to give representation to all voices of the people, the music industry will include some of the mixed opinions, most certainly in a genre built on mixed experiences.
In fact, some of the biggest names in country music, such as Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton, have brought social commentary into their music, and these are just examples of more liberal positions. Contemporary country musicians, like Jason Aldean and Kid Rock, have consistently used their music to support conservative politicians and positions. So, what makes their music more acceptable amongst passionate country music fans?
Ultimately, it comes back to the idea that country music has historically been most appealing to white, right-leaning Americans. Therefore, there is a risk of “biting the hand that feeds you” and musicians “potential[ly] losing half their audience” by using their art to push against the political beliefs of that demographic, according to Gennaro. That, in addition to today’s mass media coverage of such beliefs as compared to those of the past, creates reactions that just “wasn’t necessarily with the same zest that you see today,” Gennaro said.
However, Gennaro said that at the end of the day, the overlap between music and politics doesn’t necessarily depend on which party the musician supports, but rather on the beliefs of their audience. Essentially, “as long as it meets [their] political ideology, people are more accepting of a musician’s work.”
“There seems to be no room for political nuance: you are either on one side or the other.”
UCF Senior Lecturer of Music History, Dr. Joe Gennaro
Still, artists of any genre don’t have a responsibility to use their work and platforms to support or oppose political and social topics. Gennaro believes that “your personal sense of expression is your right,” and depending on that musician’s goal, it may look different, but that “doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with consequences.” However, Gennaro said that while exercising their free speech, musicians should show “some care for humanity and care for our fellow mankind,” adding, “You can express away all you want, but don’t degenerate human life on either side.”
The Gist of It
Bryan is not new to controversy, having been in many since the start of his career. However, his clip of “Bad News” and its anti-ICE sentiment not only sparked political backlash against his own work but also questioned the origins of country music and politics. While country fans argue over whether the genre is meant to be a place for politics, especially those criticizing the government.
“At the end of the day, it’s art. You can either consume it or not,” Gennaro said. That consumption alone will dictate the artist’s success, and in some ways, the politics of society at large.