Category Archives: Country Subgenres

by | March 28, 2015 · 8:00 am

Country Finds Its Beach

After spending the past week on a beautiful Bahamian beach listening to nothing but the waves on the shore and country music, it dawned on me that there may just be a new subgenre of country that, though small, is growing. Usually country contains themes of back roads and conservative ideals, but beach country has definitely changed that, evoking themes of sand, surf, and piña coladas.

This trend seemed to grow out of greats like Jimmy Buffett and his Margaritaville to Kenny Chesney and is now dominated by Luke Bryan and, to an extent, Zach Brown Band. Of course there are many others who have made music that sounds more beach-y than country, from Brad Paisley to Garth Brooks, everyone is hoping on the sandy bandwagon.

Luke Bryan in particular took advantage of this niche market by creating multiple spring break sets and performing in popular spring break locale Panama Beach. For the past seven years, Bryan has released a Spring Break EP to accompany his shows. Although the music isn’t his highest quality, it definitely is meant for the beach and the young adults that flock to it. This spring break marks his final shows and at 38 that’s probably an appropriate move as he’s two decades older than the average college freshman.

I think the expansion creates an interests from a wider fan base, one that might have traditionally listened to soulful and smooth Colbie Callait or Jason Mraz and wants to hear more sunny tunes. It definitely appeals to younger audiences and allows them an easy segue into more traditional country, particularly when such big names and well-known artists delve into the beachy trend.

However, I think the island tunes are become a lot more than a trend. Many have begun to incorporate more Caribbean sounds like the steel pan and mimic some defining characteristics of Calypso music with rhythmic and harmonic vocals.

Here are some of what I think are the most defining songs of the beach country movement:

Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffett

This is probably the most iconic and well-known beach country song. First recorded in 1977, it eventually reached number 8 on the USA music charts and number 1 on the Easy Listening charts. It evokes images of the beach, margaritas, and women. What makes it country is mostly the guitar and the alcohol and women references.

https://youtu.be/J17sdUGOct0

Two Pina Coladas- Garth Brooks

Garth Brooks is largely celebrated as one of the best country artists of all time. When he released this song in 1998, it hit number 1 on the US and Canadian country charts. It, too, evokes the slower, harmonic vocals with some call-and-response tactics while using themes of alcohol, lovesickness and the beach.

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem – Kenny Chesney

Kenny Chesney is nearly unparalleled in his ability to capture the laid-back living that comes at the seaside. In this instant classic, there’s a clear mix of country and Calypso with steel guitars, acoustic guitars, drums, and tambourine. The island escapism so often seen in many of these songs is clearly evident here as he sings, “no boss, no clocks, no dress code.”

Suntan City – Luke Bryan

Like said, Luke Bryan’s spring break EPs aren’t his greatest works. While this song sounds different from the previous three, I think it still stands as beach country or a blend of bro-country and beach. It was released on Luke Bryan’s first spring break EP, “Spring Break… Here to Party.” It talks about a lot of similar themes as bro-country like women, beer, and kicking back with friends (in this case on the beach).

3 Comments

Filed under Country Subgenres, Live Music, Music Videos, Progressive Country

Tagged as , , , ,

by | March 27, 2015 · 8:00 am

Country Fascinated By Being “Homegrown”

One of the first words that come to mind when I hear “spring break” is road trip. Everyone leaves Austin and road trips somewhere, whether it be to Panama City, Gulf Shores, or just going back home. After making my way through the numerous midterms thrown my way, I made the choice of my spring break road trip to be driving the hour and a half trip home. As I drove home, switching between country radio stations the whole way, I realized that two songs in particular were played more than others. Not only were these two songs played a lot, but they also shared a very specific word in common: homegrown. I am talking about the songs “Homegrown Honey,” by Darius Rucker, and “Homegrown,” by Zac Brown Band.

Darius Rucker Homegrown HoneyDarius Rucker’s “Homegrown Honey” was released in August 2014 as the first single from his upcoming fifth studio album. The album, Southern Style, will be released on March 31, 2015. Rucker wrote the song with Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum and Nathan Chapman. It is about a country fish out of water that is turning heads. On the other hand, Zac Brown Band’s “Homegrown” was released on January 12, 2015. It is the first single from the band’s fourth studio album, Jekyll + Hyde, set for release later in 2015. They sing about a man satisfied with the life he has rather than what it could be.

Zac Brown Band SNLAfter noticing that these two were only released five months apart and how their titles very closely resembled each other, I began to notice that they both depict being “homegrown” as a positive trait for one to possess. They both talk about someone’s roots, in particularly southern roots, as a wonderful characteristic. While Rucker describes being “homegrown” as wearing boots and downing whiskey, Zac Brown Band describes a more simplistic “homegrown” as having a piece of land in the countryside. Both use southern stereotypes found throughout any country song today.

However, Darius Rucker and Zac Brown Band are not the first and only ones to write about being homegrown, or having southern roots. Other recordings from the country music genre include songs such as Jason Aldean’s “She’s Country,” and Miranda Lambert’s song, written for a series of Ram Truck ads, “Roots and Wings.” Both really hook onto the word “roots.” Aldean and Lambert describe the stereotypical southern symbols just as Rucker and Zac Brown Band. Aldean uses symbols such as cowboy boots and down home roots, while Lambert uses guitar strings and calluses to represent her father’s roots and mother’s wings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AZLUohDCGo

https://youtu.be/xyurxBtdofM

Why is country music so fascinated with being “homegrown” or having “down home roots”? Do they sing these songs for their typical listeners, who are from more rural backgrounds? Or is it just a topic they know will sell?

1 Comment

Filed under Bro Country, Country Rock, Country Symbols, Music Videos, New Country, Song Analysis, Southern Rock

by | March 25, 2015 · 8:00 am

The Good Kind of Country Music

A couple of weekends ago, a handful of my friends and myself packed up a change of clothes, jumped in the car, and made our way to College Station. We were making our way to hang out with a couple of our sorority sisters as well as attend the probate of the brothers of Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. I was excited to be taking a mini-road trip to escape the stress of school for the weekend and to clear my mind with a nice drive down some country roads.

Since I was the one who would be driving, that meant that I also had control of the radio. Because I knew that my sisters are not big fans of country music, I took this into consideration and kindly turned the dial to a pop station. We got a good thirty minutes of Adam Levine, Taylor Swift, and Iggy before I had to find another station. Unfortunately (for them), shortly after we passed the Austin city line and made our way further into the country we began to lose signal of the pop station and I was forced to turn to a different station.

After browsing through the stations for quite some time, I finally came across a radio station that caught my attention. “Young,” by Kenney Chesney was playing. When I heard this song I initially had passed the station up but as I realized what song it was that was playing, I quickly returned to the station. It reminded me of intermediate school; eighth grade to be exact. It brought back memories of the group of friends I had in intermediate school, the little rebellious phase we went through, and how we would be going our different ways in high school. This type of country music reminded me of my time as a child, growing up listening to country music on trips to Corpus Christi with my parents and siblings.

Next came some good ole George Strait, Reba, and Garth Brooks. I had missed this kind of country music being played on the radio; today’s country music radio consists of artists like Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, and Sam Hunt (who I personally wouldn’t even consider country). I couldn’t really remember the last time I had listened to country music on the radio and actually enjoyed it. It wasn’t really until I spent an entire two hours listening to the country artists that I grew up listening to that I realized there was something wrong with today’s country radio. Today’s country music radio stations should follow the lead of this “Classic Country” radio station and I just might start listening to country music on the radio again.

2 Comments

Filed under Classic Country, New Traditionalism

by | March 14, 2015 · 8:00 am

Religion is a Country Music Trope.

Tuesday March 3rd, 2015 was a monumental day for Carrie Underwood. Carrie and husband Mike Fisher gave birth to a baby boy, Isaiah Michael Fisher. Carrie could be said to be the most popular female country artist of the decade. Underwood started with a solid fan base after winning American Idol. This is possibly why she was so successful on the Billboard Top 100 in addition to country music charts. Carrie is one of my favorite artists but not solely because of her music. She has great style, values, and holds herself with grace. I may not know her personally but I think she just has just a wonderful presence that surrounds her. Now in class there has been discussion about whether or not religion is a trope of country music. I believe that in Underwood’s case it is a very big part of her and her music. Her newest single “Something in the Water” has to do with how a person’s life changes after they have been baptized. The song also includes lyrics from “Amazing Grace”. Another attribute of the song is that it is not only on the Top Charts for the Billboard Top 100 but also is on the Hot Christian Songs Chart.

In addition to “Something in the Water”, a good portion of Underwood’s older songs also contains some references of religion. Another example would be “Jesus Take the Wheel”. “Jesus Take the Wheel” was released on Underwood’s debut album Some Hearts in 2005. This was Underwood’s first Christian-Country crossover hit and could be said to be her most successful single thus far. “Jesus Take the Wheel” won numerous awards, including two Grammy’s and an Academy of Country Music.

Others like “Inside Your Heaven” and “Just a Dream” are two other songs that religion is a theme. Both Underwood and the runner-up of American Idol, Bo Bice, released “Inside Your Heaven”. Underwood’s version of the song excelled with approximately double the amount of copies sold than Bice’s. “Just a Dream” is a song about loss and heartbreak. This song is sad in depressing but it clearly illustrates the emotion of denial after one finds out a love one has passed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyRlMaCauSs

Religion does not take place in all of Underwood’s songs though. But seeing as how a number of her songs have religion in it, you can tell it is something she values. Also, if we look back at the birth of her son this past week we can tell she values religion in her life. Underwood and Fisher named their son Isaiah, which is a biblical name.

8 Comments

Filed under Country Pop, Music Videos, Song Analysis, USA, Women

by | March 13, 2015 · 8:00 am

Crawfish and Country Music

Thanks to cold temperatures, rain, and “ice”, the last few weeks in Austin have felt more like Seattle than Texas. Because of this, the 60-degree forecast full of sun and devoid of precipitation for this past Saturday had me excited. While the weather alone could have brightened my mood, my enthusiasm was heightened because Mother Nature was cooperating for my favorite party of the year.

turnpike-truEvery March, my fraternity puts on our “Ranch” party. Good friends, crawfish, and most importantly live country music highlight the event. While past years have boasted big name artists such as Pat Green, I was ecstatic when I heard this year’s party would be featuring one of my favorite country artists, Turnpike Troubadours. While they are still a relatively small group, they have gained momentum in the last several years, even playing the ACL Music Festival this past October. Regardless of this being the third time I would be seeing them perform in the last year, I was still looking forward to the concert.

As people flocked to the crawfish tables, Shane Smith & the Saints took the stage as the warm-up act. Although I was not familiar with their music, I was quickly impressed by their sound. Lead vocalist Shane Smith had a great voice and was accompanied by a classic Texas country sound featuring a fiddle, guitar, drums, and bass. The band recently released their first album, a feat that was over two years in the making. The album, Coast, reflects the relationships and memories made while on the road in the years leading up to the release. They have a great sound and the album is definitely worth checking out.

While I was impressed with Shane Smith & the Saints, Turnpike Troubadours finally took the stage and stole the show like they have done every time I have seen them perform. All hailing from southeastern Oklahoma, the members of Turnpike Troubadours clearly enjoy performing. Lead vocalist Evan Felker truly knows how to take over a stage and engage an audience. He writes almost all of their songs and his passion is clearly evident when he performs. Aside from turning the microphone to the crowd or joking around with other band members on stage, they sounded just like they do in recordings and delivered a great show.

FullSizeRender (1)I chose their most recent album Goodbye Normal Street as my album to analyze for the current class project. My research really allowed me to see their performance in a new light compared to past shows. While songs like “Good Lord Lorrie” and “Gin, Smoke, Lies” have been some of my favorites since they were released in 2012, my research allowed me to listen to them differently this time. For example, I read in an interview with Felker that he writes almost all of his songs about authentic life experiences and real people that have crossed his path. Knowing that Lorrie is a real person with a real story helps explain the passion Felker sings with when performing the song.

Whether at historic Gruene Hall singing on the same stage as many of country music’s biggest names, at Zilker Park for ACL, or in the front yard of a college party, every time I have heard Turnpike Troubadours perform they have delivered the same genuine and authentic performance. They are bonded by their rural roots and sincerely enjoy performing their life experiences to a crowd, regardless of who it might be.

6 Comments

Filed under Americana, Austin, Live Music, Texas