New Music Tuesday – Bro-Country – Wait, What? Really?

“I have a confession to make: I’ve been listening to a ton of country music lately –bro-country at that,” said Shawn Finn.

What is bro-country you ask? It’s a sub-genre of country that incorporates rock, pop and rap. Music critic Jody Rosen was the first to coin the term in an article he wrote not too long ago, in August of 2013.

This sub-genre of country has received mixed reviews over the past year or so. Many quote-unquote “traditional” country artists feel that this type of music is a poor representation of country.

This is something that I honestly never thought I would confess to! This all started back in the early ‘90s when I ventured to my first concert, Reba McEntire. I saw her perform at the Breslin Center in East Lansing with my mom and sister. After that show, I swore I’d never listen to country again. It wasn’t a bad show or anything – I just didn’t consider it “good” music.

From there, I began to play a lot of basketball and started listening to rap and hip-hop. The Kids on the travel team that I hung out with didn’t listen to country, and really, neither did my parents (country-wise, my mom only liked Reba and Garth Brooks). Country had the stigma of not being cool. And at that age, I wanted to be cool.

Maybe it’s country music’s transition to the baseball cap from the typical Stetson that’s attracted me to it recently. I can’t stand cowboy hats. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t a fan? My musical tastes have definitely changed in recent years and here’s what I’m jammin’ out to now.

Enjoy, and feel free to email me at sfinn@oneupweb.com so we can bro-out to some more country!

Sam Hunt – “Leave the Night On”

Brantley Gilbert – “Bottoms Up”

Dustin Lynch – “Where It’s At”

Florida Georgia Line – “It’z Just What we Do”

Jason Aldean – “Dirt Road Anthem”