by Andrew Rosenthal ‘24

Within the last two years, the rise of country music has erupted throughout the music industry. Country music has quickly spread to people of all ages across the United States, from kids in middle school to adults in their 50s. In 2021, country music had an 8.6 percent-share of album sales, closing in on pop’s 10.7-percent share of albums sold that year. According to the Country Music Association (CMA), more than 50 percent of adults in America were listeners of the genre in 2021. This growth has only continued, and country music saw a 20.3-percent increase of listeners just in 2023. In the coming years, there is a good chance that country music could become the most popular genre of music in the country.

Popular singers such as Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs, and stars on the rise such as Zach Bryan, have contributed to the explosion of country music. Combs released his song “Hurricane” in 2015, and it sparked his fame as it climbed the charts over the next year and now is 8x certified platinum. Wallen gained his popularity by going on the T.V. show “The Voice,” while Bryan broke through on his YouTube channel where his songs went viral. Wallen’s most recent album, One Thing at a Time, sold the equivalent of 501,000 units. Bryan’s album American Heartbreak, which was released May 20, 2022, sold for the equivalent of 702,000 units as of October 2022.

Many observers of country music believe that the stories that these artists tell in their songs is what drives their popularity as listeners–particularly teens and young adults–easily relate to the lyrics. Artists such as Wallen, Combs and Luke Byan are some artists with more of a happy vibe, while Zach Bryan and Thomas Rhett are more known for their more serious and nostalgic tunes.

The growing popularity of country music can be seen among Sherwood students. More and more students have been listening to country music with students posting about their favorite artists on their social media platforms, or attending concerts. Country music is in the best position it’s seen, in part due to the pandemic when people of all ages started venturing out of their usual comfort zones and listening to new genres of music. “Ever since my brother would play the music in the car on the way to school I’ve started to like [country],” said senior Connor Asbacher. “I just see it as music and I don’t really take anything from it. I do notice my take on music kind of follows which kind of country I listen to.”