Birth Of A Country Sub-Genre
In recent years, the country genre has acquired a sound hardly deviating from the typical sound we hear. It’s been hard to find new country music with deeper meaning. Not all of us are huntin’ fishin’ and lovin’ every day Luke Bryan. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy my fair share of pop country, but we all reach a point when we’re ready for change. In walks the alternative country subgenre we all needed.
Tyler Childers released his first album, Bottles and Bibles, in 2011, but wasn’t big in the country scene until his 2017 album Purgatory. The lyrical masterpieces Feathered Indians and Lady May, brought Tyler Childers and his album to fame, hitting us deep where country really never had before. In August of 2019, Zach Bryan entered the game.
Right after the release of his debut album DeAnn, we were blessed with the single, Heading South. This song puts him on the map, but Zach Bryan’s sound still goes unheard primarily for the next three years.
Childers seemed to be our only hope for soulful, rock you to the core country. Our faith was fading until April of 2022–the drop of the single that broke our hearts and made us fall in love simultaneously. Something in the Orange hits #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains on the chart for 42 weeks. This is when Zach Bryan goes mainstream, whether we like it or not. His proceeding album, American Heartbreak, takes the country world by storm, peaking at #4 and remaining on the chart for ten weeks. The subgenre is officially born.
Image Courtesy: Becky Fluke (left), Old Time Music (right)
It could be argued that artists like Chris Stapelton and Cody Jinks were pioneers of this genre, and on a certain level, I agree. The sounds are similar. Maybe they walked so Childers and Bryan could run, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that the artists fall in the same category.
The way that Bryan and Childers relay their heartbreak into music differs from any artist before them. Their lyrics are beautiful and thoughtfully written. When you listen, you can physically feel every piece of their heart being poured into the songs. The way they combine different instruments, like the fiddle and violin, with the traditional acoustic guitar sets this style of country apart from the rest. It’s virtually magic how they put feelings we can barely even fathom into words and melodies.
The subgenre still has yet to find a proper name, although it can be easily argued that its roots were sprouted in red dirt. It could be called folk country, some on TikTok are naming it the “yearning man” genre. It’s hard to give a name to something so new and unique. It’s exciting to be alive during a time of ever-changing music, and it seems we may be in the midst of a country makeover. I think I speak for us all when I say I look forward to the futures of these artists and the new artists that will follow in their footsteps.
Strike Out,
Morgan Harms
Boca Raton
Morgan Harms is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine Boca. She is a pisces mermaid infatuated with the ocean and the color blue. She spends her free time daydreaming, wave hunting, and blasting music from whatever genre she’s into that day. You can reach her on Instagram @morganjharms, or by email morganjharms@gmail.com.
