As we enter a brand new year in country music, questions and curiosities abound once again. Throughout the 2020s, we’ve been spoiled with colorful, controversy-prone superstars and genuinely gifted storytellers dominating the mainstream scene, to the point that country music is no longer a boring footnote in the greater narratives of contemporary music; nay, it may be the most interesting format to follow outside of pop. As such, we’re analyzing the five most interesting storylines to follow in country music today (as selected by yours truly).
Though not all of the artists we’re covering today are necessarily the biggest and flashiest, these five have the most significant question marks heading into this year, for good or for bad. Where we stand in January, none of the quintessential “big three” (Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, and Zach Bryan) are poised to generate much controversy or curiosity, but look to uphold the same standard of quality that their fans have come to appreciate.
However, these five acts stand at a turning point at various stages of their respective careers, and could make or break their public perception by year’s end. Without further hesitation, let’s kick off the list with #1:
- Will Ella Langley complete her ascent to the S-tier?
Ella is in an interesting stage in her career; she may well be the buzziest act in country music, but her commercial impact has largely come on the strength of just two tremendously catchy singles (“you look like you love me” and “Choosin’ Texas,” of course). There’s a definite Morgan Wallen, circa 2020, feeling, where she’s steadily proving she has the goods with terrific singles, but has yet to drop a full body of work to cement her place in the format’s highest echelon.
Yes, Ella fans, I’m aware that hungover has been out for some time, but the through-line joining her biggest hits has been her interest in 1980s country-pop, which isn’t really reflected across the safer would-be radio singles of her debut. To further the Wallen analogy, that record is easily her If I Know Me; time will tell its successor builds on Ella Langley’s palpable hype like Dangerous.
2. Are the Red Clay Strays even a country band?
When we interviewed the Red Clay Strays on the CMA Awards’ red carpet (where they later won Group of the Year), they made it clear that their next record will be “even less country” than its two predecessors. For a band whose ties to country music have been dubious at best, aside from their continued collaboration with Dave Cobb, this isn’t surprising; it’s fair to speculate that, like so many 1990s rock bands before them, their association with country music reflects more of a pragmatic classification than a belief that they are genuinely a country band.
It makes you wonder how much longer they’ll (justifiably) make glib jokes about not really being a country act while still representing the format as its biggest band. Granted, they’re generally good for the genre, and the genre has been good to them, so it may not matter where they truly fall on the “country-ness” spectrum.
At some point, though, it would be nice for the Strays to throw country music a bone and break into some outlaw stuff that feels less indebted to rock and soul.
As always, there’s hilarious irony to be found in the fact that many of Red Clay’s biggest fans have probably levied the “not country” criticism at some point in the last 15 years (more on that here).
3. Will Gavin Adcock surprise us (like, at all, ever)?
The caption says it all; Gavin Adcock has become a very dependable artist in his short time on the scene, but no matter how many times he pats himself on the back for over-serving his audience with regular releases, his greatest shortcoming is still his lack of true standout cuts. Last year, he dropped more than two dozen new songs, but very few (if any) proven to have much staying power beyond the week of their release. In a way, it often feels like Adcock covers for the overall blandness of his output by quickly directing your attention to the next thing, simply taking pride in the sheer volume of his growing catalogue.
That said, if he has any aspirations of ascending to that next tier of country music superstar, cultivating a passionate fanbase is only half the battle; the other half is building a collection of hit singles that the general public immediately recognizes, whether or not they really know the artist. His tour-mate Morgan Wallen did it with “Last Night,” among others, and his nemesis Zach Bryan did it with “Something in the Orange.” It’s difficult to point to any singular Gavin Adcock song and say, “That’s a hit, everyone will remember this one.” In a way, it’s almost the opposite of Ella Langley’s position, who is known for her humongous singles but still seeks a signature statement LP.
4. How will Parker McCollum follow his self-titled LP?
After earning tons of acclaim from fans and critics alike, Parker McCollum is still basking in the success of his self-titled LP; that is, he was, until recently, hinting that new music may already be on the way.
If we’re just talking about one or two additional singles, such as the unreleased fan favorite “Big Old Fancy House,” that may be one thing; however, if another full-length album is around the corner, he risks damaging his newly-earned goodwill as a generational songwriter and balladeer.
Though Parker McCollum may not have been the commercial smash that Never Enough was, there should be no denying that it’s a plainly better record. Maybe he does have another “My Blue” tucked away; still, experience tells us that artists who take a creative swing at the expense of commercial viability are often apt to swing the other way on the next go-around (looking at you, Thomas Rhett).
5. Are Koe Wetzel’s “bad-boy” days really behind him?
Though it’s been a relatively under-discussed storyline, the steady depletion of Koe Wetzel’s sleazebag street cred has been a true tragedy on the Texas music scene. Back in 2019, this young man inspired the sweatiest, wildest concerts anywhere in the country; however, since Hell Paso, the symbolic end of his riotous youth, he’s become a feeble pastiche of his old self.
Sure, he’ll still write a song about being a hard-drinking screw-up, but will he write one about being a hard-drinking screw-up pining for a secret tryst with an old lover trapped in an abusive relationship? When you compare “Werewolf” to “Make Believe,” the “new Koe” sounds anything but authentic.
The reality is that Koe is currently a shell of himself creatively, hanging on for dear life to an old character he used to play like a washed-up sitcom actor. As a newly-minted father, it’s time for him to advance to his second act, and find a way to be himself once again, even if he’s not the same hard-drinking screw-up we once knew.
