Every time someone hears me say that I love country music, I see the full body cringe take over. They say in disgust "It's all about girls, beer, and trucks." Well, I have to admit, in many circumstances, they're not wrong. With that said, it is still one of my favorite genres of music.
Before continuing on, I'm here to say that I'm not writing this to persuade you to enjoy country music. Simply, I want to explain why it means a lot to me. I also believe that music is incredibly personal and you should enjoy whatever genre of music makes you want to blast it in your car and sing at the top of your lungs, because music is powerful, and we should all be able to enjoy it at leisure.
So, with that said, let's get to it: this is why I love the hated genre of country music.
When I was much younger, we used to take many more road trips than we do now that my family and I are busy with work and school. My dad's family lived on a ranch in the middle of nowhere Oregon and we would frequently head over there to be with family. We would spend time driving to the coast or other places in Oregon for a visit. We also took several 10-12 hour journeys to San Francisco.
My mom and sister would almost always fall asleep, for most, if not all, of the ride to wherever we were headed. I, however, loved looking out the window at all of the scenery passing by me on those winding roads and straight moments of interstate. I would ask my dad the most random questions, such as "do trucks have to stop at every weigh station?" to see whatever I could learn from him. I also remember singing along with him to our favorite songs. These were still the times of CDs and we frequently listened to the Dixie Chicks, The Derailers, Randy Travis, and Waylon Jennings, among others.
I have very fond memories of these car rides with my family. I don't remember much of the places we ended up, but I remember looking out the window at the cars passing by, the stars in the sky, and singing along with my dad.
For a little while there, when I was a bit older, we had a phase of not really listening to country music. I can hear my dads words in my head saying "Billy Ray Cyrus ruined country music for me when he came out with Achy Breaky Heart." Thinking about it now makes me laugh, especially considering I absolutely loved Hannah Montana.
Then, one day, I heard it again. My dad would sing those old songs on Saturday mornings while making us breakfast. New country music was playing over our speakers and I was downloading all the songs I could onto my little iPod nano. My dad's favorite was Zac Brown Band, and they're still on our bucket list of people to see in concert. I was a big fan of Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, and Jason Aldean and often found myself changing the radio station to a country one.
I have also been lucky enough to have the chance to see many of my favorite country artists in concert. Hunter Hayes was my first. I saw him with my sister in a little theater not far from my house. I wore my grandpa's size 12 cowboy boots with multiple pairs of socks and got mad when he high-fived my sister but not me. I saw him again a couple years later, along with James Otto, A Thousand Horses, and Maddie & Tae. One year for my birthday, I went to see Eric Church with my dad. We loved it so much I'm pretty sure we both cried. This past summer, I even go to see Chris Stapleton. While the venue was less than ideal, he put on a great show, and as I would tell people when they asked me about it, "I would've seen him if he was playing in a dumpster."
There are a lot of fond memories that I have associated with country music, but also a lot of sad ones. I remember lying in my small twin bed in my room, sobbing my eyes out while listening to Hunter Hayes. Seventh grade was a tough time and I listened to a lot of HH while crying in that room. Now, whenever I'm really sad, I know I can turn to his music for a little bit of reassurance that it will get better, because it did then, and it can now.
Today, country music is my favorite thing to play in the car, because it reminds me of those road trips with my dad. My dad has always made me feel very safe and I have a lot of anxiety surrounding driving, so listening to that music, thinking about him, and singing along makes me feel a lot better.
Country music, like much of the music I'm sure you love to listen to, makes me feel heard. To me, in many circumstances, it feels very relatable. When I scream "In Case You Didn't Know" while crying in the car, it feels like a release that I don't get from a lot of other music. It has a special place in my heart and although there are periods of time where I don't listen to it regularly, it will always be my musical escape.
I probably haven't convinced you to love country music through this post, but I'm perfectly OK with that. I just wanted to put out into the world why I love and appreciate this genre of music. If you, however, are a fan of country (or even just want to give it a try), check out these playlists on my Spotify.
Country Faves: https://open.spotify.com/user/justkatebrown/playlist/0M6bboWpbu8i0jR42W1UTv?si=JS1-8CcfScuDzBb8ljkkMA
Sing Along Country:
https://open.spotify.com/user/justkatebrown/playlist/64nCKTxfTXTPpT0sZM4djI?si=5i6oMvl7RSek3MpSWxlwTg
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