{"id":3963,"date":"2015-03-28T08:00:47","date_gmt":"2015-03-28T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/?p=3963"},"modified":"2015-03-23T22:06:21","modified_gmt":"2015-03-24T03:06:21","slug":"country-finds-its-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/2015\/03\/28\/country-finds-its-beach\/","title":{"rendered":"Country Finds Its Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>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 pi\u00f1a coladas.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/-_4xNMW2OHB8\/VP7mSA5X47I\/AAAAAAAAAd0\/xCPEaoT-I5o\/s798-no\/LB_SBCO_Standard_WEB_300_re1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"173\" height=\"173\" \/>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\u00a0EP to accompany his shows. Although the music isn\u2019t 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\u2019s probably an appropriate move as he\u2019s two decades older than the average college freshman.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some of what I think are the most defining songs of the beach country movement:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Jimmy Buffett - Gulf Shores Benefit Concert - Margaritaville - 18\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8VG7EuQsHEw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Margaritaville \u2013 Jimmy Buffett<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/J17sdUGOct0\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/J17sdUGOct0<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Two Pina Coladas- Garth Brooks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Kenny Chesney - No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems (Official Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-01jhW_Yzhs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem \u2013 Kenny Chesney<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Kenny Chesney is nearly unparalleled in his ability to capture the laid-back living that comes at the seaside. In this instant classic, there\u2019s 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, \u201cno boss, no clocks, no dress code.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Luke Bryan - Suntan City (Official Music Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/c0VZFSzpCYc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Suntan City \u2013 Luke Bryan<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Like said, Luke Bryan\u2019s spring break EPs aren\u2019t 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\u2019s first spring break EP, \u201cSpring Break\u2026 Here to Party.\u201d 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).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/2015\/03\/28\/country-finds-its-beach\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,63,60],"tags":[75,76,38,40,77],"class_list":["post-3963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-country-subgenres","category-live-music","category-music-videos","category-progressive-country","tag-beach-country","tag-jimmy-buffett","tag-kenny-chesney","tag-luke-bryan","tag-margaritaville"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3963"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4069,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3963\/revisions\/4069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}