by Chelsea Pujols
If you were the type to scrunch your nose at the sound of a banjo or some country twang, it might be time to change your mind.
The face of the country music genre is certainly changing. Commonly associated with right-wing politics or gun-slinging southern state residents, 2024 finds it dominated by artists of colour.
Recently, it is most notably heard in Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” and Zayn’s “Room Under The Stairs.”
The shift in public opinion is also noticeable.
Cowboy boots and hats now fill stores - even in the Northern states, a place where the aesthetic and the genre were usually met with groans of disappointment. (With the exclusion of classics like “Jolene” by Dolly Parton and “If He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood, of course!)
As they pride themselves on their progressiveness, a sudden fixation on cowboy tunes seems strange or even hypocritical, but the slow death of celebrity culture might explain this unexpected love affair.
Block lists have begun to spawn across the internet as frustrated fans react to their idols' unresponsiveness to current events in Israel and Palestine, destroying the air of fascination and mystery that keeps public figures on a pedestal.
The purpose is simple: if a celebrity has not mentioned or discussed the genocide in Palestine, online users will hit “block” on their socials and avoid their work as a subtle boycott.
Activists and supporters of Palestine have already boycotted retail brands such as Zara and chains like Starbucks in an attempt to become more intentional about where their money goes. As the death toll in Palestine rises to over 35,000, neutrality or passiveness about the subject is no longer an option for many online.
Similarly, country music is not known to keep quiet when it comes to inequality, struggle, and class consciousness despite beliefs of the genre being home to bigotry.
From Dolly Parton’s anthem for the working class “9 to 5” to Lil Nas X surprising the world as a queer cowboy, activism and a demand for equality and inclusion has always been present.
In the 1968 book “Country Music, U.S.A.,” historian Bill C.Malone writes about the misconceptions that surround the genre: “It spoke for a lot of people who were being forgotten, or felt they were being forgotten.”
Durinf the same decade that the book was published, Johnny Cash had one of the most popular country records; “At Folsom Prison” (1968) and “At San Quentin” (1969). Each acknowledged incarcerated people’s personhood and directly rejected Republicans’ cries for “law and order.” Despite the controversy, “At Folsom Prison” grew to reach number one on country charts in the US.
Setting preconceived notions aside, a shedding of coastal elitism and call for accountability seem to be intertwined; could the popularity of country mirror the growing demand for truth and transparency? Put on your hat, strap up your boots, and find out!
Edited by Emily Duff