Stetson hats, cowboy boots and Dolly Parton are back in vogue, driven by musicians like Beyonce and Lil Nas X. But what does this new wave of Country-mania say about who culture belongs to?  

On April 6th 2019 the Country music world woke up to a surprise. The biggest selling track that week, in a genre that had become strongly associated with conservatism, was by a Black gay rapper.

Lil Nas X’s bedroom-produced Old Town Road, an early example of ‘Trap Country’, had been catapulted from a TikTok dance meme into the mainstream at lightning speed, simultaneously climbing Billboard’s Hot Country and Hip Hop / RnB charts at pace. 

In early April, the song finally made it to the top spot – a monumental occasion for both the artist and wider culture. Except it didn’t. The listings that day showed no sign of Lil Nas X at number one, or anywhere else. Despite outselling the competition, Billboard had deemed Old Town Road’s hybrid style not Country enough, and disqualified it from the chart altogether. Interestingly, it was allowed to remain in the Hip Hop / RnB category.

The controversy that followed Billboard’s exclusion of Old Town Road naturally posed questions about the role of race and sexuality in pop music, a radically different approach to cultural appropriation, and the ability of non-white artists to exist in spaces outside of those implicitly designated to them through systemic racism. Country music and its associated culture found itself under the spotlight. 

While LGBTQ+ and POC artists like Allison Russell and Lavender Country had been part of the country music culture for decades, the overwhelming commercial success of Bro-Country had kept them on the fringes of the culture, rather than putting them at the forefront of it. However, the success of Old Town Road reframed what and who country music was for, creating space for artists like Orvile Peck and Kacy Musgraves, leading to a positive co-opting of the genre’s cultural symbols, rituals, and, in time, reshaping the belief and value systems too. 

And then came a certain Texan named Beyonce.

Never one to be told where she does or doesn’t belong, the 32 time Grammy winner sharpened her focus on the Country aesthetic in the years following the Lil Nas X controversy, dialling up the double denim and Stetson hats and exploring what the culture of Americana means to her, a Black woman, in today’s world. This artistic journey ultimately led to 2024’s Cowboy Carter album, igniting an explosion of mainstream interest in Country music. Depop reported a 58% increase in searches for fringed jackets the month following the release, while John Lewis saw cowboy boot sales increase by 62%. 

There are fewer greater examples of how culture is in a constant state of flux; reacting to new ideas, changing norms, and new symbols and signs. Over the last decade, this evolution has become supercharged – with digital media connecting, democratising, and documenting cultures big and small all around the world, inviting reinvention. For brands who can go deeper than the ephemera, we are truly living in a golden era of popular culture. 

So, get off your horse and…

• Understand that aside from being a music and fashion trend, the resurgence of Country is ultimately driven by an exploration of identity by those that were previously kept on the fringes. This exploration asks important questions about who culture belongs to, and presents opportunities for those that had previously been on the edges to completely reshape a culture’s belief and value systems. 

• This shift is important because it goes beyond ephemera and trends and into identity and values. Demonstrate your integrity as a brand by doing the work to understand these seismic shifts, and demonstrate empathy by playing that understanding back. Your longevity as a brand in these cultural spaces is determined by the understanding and empathy that you show in the early stages of engaging with them.

• When and where it feels right, work with the subculture to create a platform for both communities as well as artists themselves. Take a stand on the values you share; events like Allison Russell’s Love Rising (a protest at Tennessee’s anti-drag laws) show the power of these communities to drive change. You and your brand can contribute to that change. 

To unlock more identity insights, email discover@culturelab.co 

^{(Sources: CultureLab CultureIndex, June 2024)}