It’s no question that country music is always evolving. But, there’s one era of the genre that Luke Bryan finds particularly nostalgic. And, that’s bro-country.
While speaking to The Tennessean, according to an Everything Nash report, Bryan defended the bro-country movement, which once faced criticism for its repetitious subject matter of keeping song lyrics centered around topics like beer, girls, partying and pickup trucks.
“I don’t care for defining that era as ‘bro-country,” Bryan said of the moniker while reflecting on the time period. “I feel like a group of artists focused on hitting the mark on a lot of fun stuff that we loved, that the fans also enjoyed, that became very popular.”
That group of artists were some of Bryan’s cohorts, including Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, and Jake Owen. And they ruled the airwaves. But Luke Bryan, 46, he was king when it came to that style of music, topping the charts with uptempo, light-hearted hits like, 2011’s “Country Girl (Shake It For Me),” 2013’s “That’s My Kinda Night,” and 2015’s “Huntin,’ Fishin,’ and Lovin’ Every Day.”
“Nothing is better than creating a song that you know people will respond to and get fired up by,” Bryan said of his hits, which earned him several awards, including CMA and ACM Album of the Year for 2011’s Tailgates & Tanlines.
“Even if it’s about a world people don’t know anything about, if the story feels authentic – me singing ‘Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Everyday’ or talking about sitting on a truck tailgate drinking a beer doesn’t precisely describe the life of someone in Boston at Gillette Stadium, but they believe [that track] – then people will gravitate to you,” Bryan said.
Luke Bryan Credits Garth Brooks For Helping Shape His Class Of Hitmakers
One artist who came up before the bro-country era that Bryan says helped shape his class of hitmakers is Garth Brooks. Bryan talked about the influence Brooks had on him and how that helped him approach large capacity crowds and revelers with high energy sets and megastar stage presence.
“Garth taught country music stars how to approach our careers with a rock star mentality,” Bryan shares. “Being ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ level enormous by selling out football stadiums on multiple nights – and reaching meteoric heights because of it – programmed us to dream of achieving that level of success.”
Brooks’ height led the way for a wave of male dominance in country music and noticeable lack of female radio play, which happened to be the other side of the coin that had people disapproving of the bro-country era. And while bro-country has somewhat hung up its hat and doors have opened for other artists, Bryan says the recent shift in country music is a positive one with more inclusivity.
“People Will Want To Be Your Fan As Long As You Are Uniquely Yourself”
“It’s no secret that [diverse populations] haven’t been represented well in country music,” the five-time Entertainer of the Year says of how the format was in previous years. “But now that we’re making a collaborative effort as a genre to give everyone an equal chance to shine, great artists still have to sing great songs, and that’s happening. As long as it continues to happen – and we grow more comfortable with what representing all facets of many ways of life look like – country music has a bright future.”
“People will want to be your fan as long as you are uniquely yourself,” he continued. “And there are so many people – Kelsea Ballerini, Walker Hayes, Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, Chris Stapleton – all being themselves and potentially having the same success that [Aldean, Florida Georgia Line and I] had.”
Luke Bryan recently wrapped up his role as a coach on Season 21 of American Idol. In June, he will hit the road for his 2023 Country On Tour, which visits 36 cities and features a slew of special guests, including Chayce Beckham, Tyler Braden, Ashley Cooke, Jackson Dean, Jon Langston, Conner Smith, Alana Springsteen, Hailey Whitters, and DJ Rock.
