We’ve invited a broad lineup of journalists and authors who focus on country music to share their takes on the present and future of the genre. Here’s a sampling of their responses on topics from 2023’s best country releases to the biggest roadblocks to important changes in the industry in the year to come.
Respondents:
David Cantwell: author; co-founder, No Fences Review; critic, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone
Stacy Chandler: assistant editor, No Depression
Rachel Cholst: editor, Rainbow Rodeo; contributor, Nashville Scene, No Depression
Steacy Easton: author, Why Tammy Wynette Matters; critic
Amanda Haggard: co-editor, The Contributor; contributor, Nashville Scene and Chapter16.org
Jake Harris: audience editor, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Charles L. Hughes: co-founder, No Fences Review; writer; teacher
Tom Lane: author and editor, Tom Lane’s Music Blog
Sara A. Lewis: executive director, Oxford American
Dan MacIntosh: writer, Country Standard Time, RoughStock
Amanda Martinez: historian, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kelly McCartney: Apple Music Country’s Record Bin Radio
Marissa R. Moss: journalist and author; co-founder, Don’t Rock the Inbox
Chris Parton: Nashville Lifestyles, Nashville Scene, The Bluegrass Situation
Amos Perrine: No Depression
Ron Wynn: Tennessee Tribune, Nashville Scene, The Bluegrass Situation
Jobi Riccio
What was your favorite country song and country album released in 2023?
Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything”; Jason Isbell, Weathervanes —Tom Lane
Elle King, “Tulsa”; Tanner Adell, Buckle Bunny —Steacy Easton
Jobi Riccio, “Whiplash”; Jason Isbell, Weathervanes —Kelly McCartney
Roberta Lea’s “Small Town Boy” is a stunning womanist rejoinder to white-boy fantasies and a rollicking anthem to independence. Her album Too Much of a Woman is astonishing. —Charles L. Hughes
Ashley McBryde, “Learned to Lie”; Sara Petite, The Empress —Rachel Cholst
Parker McCollum, “Handle on You”; Jordyn Shellhart, Primrose; Stephen Wilson Jr., Son of Dad —Chris Parton
Tyler Childers, “Luke 2: 8-10”; Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Weathervanes —Jake Harris
Megan Moroney, “Kansas Anymore”; Jess Williamson, Time Ain’t Accidental —Amanda Martinez
I was completely won over by the first song I heard from Jobi Riccio’s Whiplash, “For Me It’s You” — a heart-piercing country weeper about unrequited love that stubbornly refuses to have a happy ending. —Stacy Chandler
Jelly Roll’s “Son of a Sinner” and Whitsitt Chapel —Ron Wynn
Tyler Childers, “In Your Love”; Brandy Clark, Brandy Clark —Amanda Haggard
Tyler Childers, “In Your Love”; Jobi Riccio, Whiplash —Marissa R. Moss
Sunny Sweeney, “A Song Can’t Fix Everything”; Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Weathervanes —Dan MacIntosh
Tyler Childers’ “In Your Love” is best song, elevated by writers Silas House and Jason Kyle Howard’s music video. Jason Isbell’s Weathervanes for best album. —Sara A. Lewis
Tanner Adell’s Buckle Bunny hit me like it was delivering everything — sex and jokes and beats most of all — that mainstream country and its Americana suburbs have deprived us of for decades. —David Cantwell
Bella White, Among Other Things; Bella White, “The Way I Oughta Go” —Amos Perrine
What country song or album disappointed you the most in 2023?
“Try That in a Small Town” by Jason Aldean. It’s everything wrong with the “small town” song in country music: nostalgia for a time and place that never existed in America, made by people who have never lived in the small towns they sing about, in order to pander to people who wish they lived in a romanticized version of those small towns. Meanwhile, the people who actually live in small towns are forgotten. —Jake Harris
Hailey Whitters’ early work had a sharp edge and a humorous observance of everyday life. That edge was seriously blunted on her latest, I’m in Love. Not long after its release, she signed on to tour with Jason Aldean. That doesn’t mean she agrees with the guy’s politics, but it sure seems like she’s turning more toward commercialism and leaving some of the things that made her stand out behind. —Rachel Cholst
I’m not surprised anymore, and I am more sad than anything — but the whole Jason Aldean/Morgan Wallen thing shows no signs of abating; the fact that it got Aldean a No. 1 makes it even worse. In a slightly less political direction, the flop sweat and anxiety found in Dolly’s album this year — she’s always been rock ’n’ roll, and rock ’n’ roll is a bullshit designation anyway. —Steacy Easton
Jessye DeSilva
Who was your favorite country artist who flew under the radar in 2023?
Nick Shoulders’ anti-fascist country traditionalism on All Bad is absolutely thrilling. I also adored Stephanie Urbina Jones’ countrypolitan mariachi epic Manuel’s Destiny, and Justin Hiltner’s 1992 deserves all the roses. —Rachel Cholst
The message of Jessye DeSilva’s Renovations is so urgent in this vicious and hateful moment, but DeSilva isn’t giving us audio homework. They’re using a range of acoustic textures and a sweep befitting their musical-theater training to make striking and rich music. —Charles L. Hughes
Jordyn Shellhart is an incredibly candid lyricist who doesn’t sound like anyone else, with a way of shaking moments down to their essence while still being catchy. —Chris Parton
Allison Russell, at least in terms of commercial country radio. —Ron Wynn
Jason Hawk Harris’ Thin Places album is a masterful work that highlights grief in all of its anger and absurd moments. —Jake Harris
It seems like Margo Price’s Strays didn’t get quite the attention her previous albums received. —Amanda Haggard
Jordyn Shellhart, O.N.E. the Duo, Jobi Riccio, Will Carlisle —Marissa R. Moss
Logan Ledger —Amanda Martinez
Lori McKenna, Caitlin Canty, Alice Gerrard —Steacy Easton
Sunny Sweeney —Dan MacIntosh
Ashley Monroe —Sara A. Lewis
Harper O’Neill —Kelly McCartney
Jaime Wyatt —Tom Lane
Jon Byrd — a regular at Dee’s and many under-the-radar clubs in Nashville, who continues to play “what used to be called country music.” —Amos Perrine
Brittney Spencer
Who do you hope will make waves in country in 2024?
Whitney Rose and Karen Pittelman (of Karen & The Sorrows), both of whom had serious health issues in ’23, but still released some great music. —Amos Perrine
Brittney Spencer’s debut solo album is coming out Jan. 19. After she’s been in Nashville a decade, I’d love to see her get her due. —Amanda Haggard
There are so many artists leveraging country music to make statements about their identities as Americans in really interesting ways: No-No Boy’s records about the Vietnamese American experience, Stephanie Urbina Jones and Mireya Ramos’ triumphant explorations of mariachi and country, Jake Blount’s Afrofuturist epics, and Hurray for the Riff Raff’s upcoming exploration of their intersecting identities as a queer Puerto Rican New Yorker. —Rachel Cholst
Lainey Wilson has already done a lot. But with an Entertainer of the Year title behind her, even more creative doors will open — and she’s got the goods to step through them in style. —Chris Parton
Flatland Cavalry have a strong following in Texas, but I’m just waiting for the day they break through to a national audience. —Jake Harris
Black Opry Records —Amanda Martinez
Willi Carlisle —David Cantwell
Charley Crockett —Ron Wynn
Margo Cilker, Jaime Wyatt —Tom Lane
Margo Cilker —Steacy Easton
Jobi Riccio —Kelly McCartney
Charlie Worsham, Lola Kirke, Lauren Watkins —Marissa R. Moss
Sunny Sweeney —Dan MacIntosh
Allison Russell
What was the country industry’s biggest mistake of 2023?
The continued embrace of hateful, exclusionary politics under the guise of being an “outlaw,” “telling it like it is” — or, even worse, “We’re all one big family.” —Charles L. Hughes
I think 2023 showed that mainstream country music’s recent promises to be more inclusive and less homogenous were just lip service. Some good folks are working toward change, but the traditional powers-that-be — radio in particular — seem determined to stick with their truck songs, because those are what their listeners are comfortable with. —Stacy Chandler
I was most disappointed to see a lot of (white, female) artists hitting the road with (white, male) bigots. You’re not going to crack the code by appealing to those fans and getting on the radio — and does any honor come anyway with being the only woman in the room? —Marissa R. Moss
The country industry’s job is to preserve itself — it’s gonna make all the money it can. And like most capitalists, it doesn’t have a lot of energy to stop any of the usual misogynist/transphobic/racist shit. I think that on my side of the fence, the error was thinking that Americana was anything different. —Steacy Easton
What is the biggest issue facing country music in 2024?
The continued lack of opportunity for BIPOC/LGBTQ+ country musicians, who continue to make an outsized share of the genre’s best music yet don’t receive either the opportunities nor the support of their cis white counterparts, especially men. Luke Combs’ hit with Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” isn’t the issue — it’s the fact that so many artists (including some who’ve covered “Fast Car” previously, to equal or better effect) would never get the chance to have such a hit with it. —Charles L. Hughes
Country music’s strength is connecting people through shared emotion and experience, and artificial intelligence can’t replicate that. But corporate interests that see a money-making opportunity that cuts out the need to pay and support humans seem determined to try. —Stacy Chandler
We’d be doing well just to avoid the kind of turds we got in 2023. Less encouraging folks to be violent in their hometowns, please. —Amanda Haggard
Mistaking the current “country boom” via three white guys with guitars having success as a recipe for longevity. —Marissa R. Moss
Tyler Childers
What is the biggest hurdle to making important changes in country in 2024?
White men —Kelly McCartney
The continued entrenchment of exclusionary politics and practices, both within country music and in the country it claims to represent. —Charles L. Hughes
Admitting you’re wrong! My AmericanaFest reporting in the Scene shows that even industry leaders who make supporting DEI a part of their identity — dare I say brand — are not willing to make things right when they fall short. We are all human, and stuff happens. But if we always double down when we make mistakes, no progress will ever be made. —Rachel Cholst
We continue to see the country music business have little incentive to support anyone other than white male artists. 2023 was a huge year for the likes of Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and newcomers like Zach Bryan and Jelly Roll. In spite of critical acclaim, artists of color, queer artists and women continue to face huge barriers to commercial success in country music. —Amanda Martinez
Songs that pander to political extremes will be rewarded in this election year. Meanwhile, real songs about things that really matter — the real heart of country music — might not get the attention they deserve. (Of course, well-written protest songs not meant to pander can definitely fall into this “real songs” category.) —Stacy Chandler
A tie between the restrictive programming practices of country radio and the backward views of those who confuse historical perspective, the celebration of tradition and love for a classic style and song with resistance to change and hostility to artists of color. —Ron Wynn
The way country music is covered — and the ways that it isn’t engaged at all. National writers and publications only drop in for the latest controversy to confirm their prejudices and make fun of the rubes. Most of the country-dedicated music press, meanwhile, is devoted to amplifying industry game plans and echoing performer “brands.” —David Cantwell
Taking a look at the state of country music now and in the year ahead with Brothers Osborne, Black Opry, Abby Anderson and more
