In 2024, country music reached horizons it never had before. It finally made mainstream waves by introducing new artists, the pop-country crossovers, and the reintroducing neotraditional country music. Not to mention all the chaos between drama, award shows, trouble with the law, and everything else. With 2024 raising a lot of question marks, there is no doubt it will be remembered for years to come. It wasn’t quite as action-packed as 2023, but 2024 was arguably an even more fun year to be a fan of the genre.
Pop-Country Crossovers
As country music became more popular, artists of other genres decided to take advantage by releasing their version of country music. It started with Beyoncé when she released her country album titled Cowboy Carter. It became one of the most polarizing records of the year before it even came out. In general, the country music listenership hated the idea of her going country, but the Beyoncé crowd felt she was only doing the format music favors. When the album finally dropped, it had a wildly successful first couple of weeks, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. However, after the initial excitement, it slowly faded into the abyss, gradually slipping from people’s minds. Cowboy Carter was one of the strangest records of 2024, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world by any means.
Beyoncé wasn’t the only artist to go country this year. After years of build-up, Post Malone finally released his country album, F-1 Trillion. Immediately, the country community accepted his transition into country music as Post fully enthralled himself in Nashville and the country music culture. He never thought he was “saving” country music, but he was grateful to be a part of it. The rollout officially began on May 10th when he teamed up with Morgan Wallen with “I Had Some Help,” which broke the internet and became one of the year’s most successful songs. He dropped a few more promotional tracks from there before dropping the album on August 16th. It was 18 songs with features like Hank Jr, Tim McGraw, and Luke Combs. The same day he dropped the album, he surprised fans with the deluxe version, F-1 Trillion (Long Bed), featuring nine more solo songs. Not only was it one of the most anticipated albums of the year, it exceeded the expectations.
While F-1 Trillion worked well, it was one of the few artist crossovers that was well-received and actually good. Post Malone became one with country music by devoting a significant amount of time learning the culture of it, and the time and effort showed in the album. Other artists thought they could find the same success without the same amount of effort. MGK ventured into country music by teaming up with Jelly Roll on ‘Lonely Road,’ a song that, to put it kindly, was an outright embarrassment. The interpolation of the iconic song, “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” was a reminder that no matter how popular it is, not everyone is cut out to sing country music. Country music opening its arms to pop artists was different and cool for a while…until it wasn’t.
1990s or 2020s?
Zach Top took the world by storm in 2024, and in doing so, he finally brought back the 90s country sound. He released his debut country album, Cold Beer & Country Music, on April 5th with something for everyone. That record has a nostalgic vibe for those who grew up on traditional country music and ended up being one of the year’s top albums. Top was nominated for New Artist of the Year at this year’s CMA Awards, where he came up short of Megan Moroney. Zach Top reached the top of the Country Music Power Rankings (CC50). He was incredibly influential in bringing this sound back, and for the first time since the 90s, it has had some real traction that people are joining in on.
Zach Top wasn’t the only artist sporting strong ’90s influences this year. The Country Central admin, ERNEST, released his record NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, just one week after Zach Top. It maintained that old-school sound while keeping things modern in 2024. The steel guitar was one of the best aspects that helpt give it the classic honky ton sound. One of the best songs on the album was “Would If I Could,” which features Lainey Wilson and was written by the legendary Dean Dillion. Dillion wrote the song 30 years prior, proving that music from the 90s will thrive in 2024.
The new (but old) wave of country music is creating opportunities for people like Braxton Keith and Randall King to thrive. They both had successful 2024s and have stayed true to their authentic sound. Keith had one of the catchiest tunes this year with “Cozy,” a funny relationship track. Part of their success was credited to the resurgence of interest in 90s country, which added a fresh element to this year as that style hadn’t been that relevant in at least 20 years. If 2024 taught us anything, it’s that history often repeats itself.
The Year of Riley Green
In the last few years, country music fans have become used to the idea that the genre is dominated by Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen, and Luke Combs. However, this wasn’t entirely the case in 2024. Riley Green had an incredible year and may have earned himself a spot with the “big three.” Green released three projects within a year (October to October), including his EP, Way Out Here, in April and his latest studio album, Don’t Mind If I Do, on October 18th.
He also released one of the year’s best songs, “Jesus Saves,” which follows the story of a homeless man and his struggles throughout his life. It puts things into perspective as it tackles a tough conversation. Green wrote it himself, making it more impressive.
Riley Green was also a part of the most viral country song of the year with Ella Langley. “You Look Like You Love Me” took the internet by storm over the summer, was arguably the best collaboration of the year, and won the CMA Award for Musical Event of The Year. The chemistry between Green and Langley was unmatched as she joined Green on tour and went on to release a second duet on Green’s latest LP, Don’t Mind If I Do. In 2025, Ella Langley is expected to join Riley Green on tour again.
New Talent
Now, there is no question that Zach Top had the biggest grand entrance this year, but plenty of others also put themselves on the map this year. Notably, Vincent Mason became one of country music’s most exciting up-and-comers this year, releasing his debut EP on December 23rd, 2023, though he really went to work in 2024. His EP Can’t Just Be Me came out on May 24th, including his hit song “Hell is a Dancefloor” and others like “May Be.” Since then, he’s released a few notable singles like “Speak of the Devil,” proving he is more than just one song and is set to have a big 2025.
Vincent Mason’s good buddy Gavin Adcock also had a big 2024. He’s quickly become one of the rowdiest men in country music thanks to his country-rock style while putting on one of the highest-energy shows. Gavin Adock is the definition of pure chaos, which is part of what makes him so interesting. He has this crazy personality and songs to fit it, but then he turns around and drops a song like “Want Me To Be,” a simple yet surprisingly deep song. It may not seem like it, but Adcock has shown plenty of versatility in his introduction to country music. Songs like “Run Your Mouth” were fun and showed his party side, which helped him build his brand. Adcock has an uncompromising vision for who he wants to be, which has helped him become one of the most interesting new artists around.
Tucker Wetmore was another young artist who showed signs of a bright future. The 25-year-old started his career constantly compared to Morgan Wallen for their similar voices. While the similarities remained throughout the year, Wetmore established his own sound and cemented his brand. The “Wind Up Missin’ You” singer had multiple viral moments from his music this year as he dropped his debut EP Waves On A Sunset in October. Wetmore continues putting out more original music and is going on his headlining tour next year. Things don’t seem to be slowing down soon for Wetmore, as he has more music set to come out in 2025, building off this year’s momentum.
Countless other artists came onto the scene this year and aren’t coming anywhere soon. Artists like The Castellows, Hudson Westbrook, Ty Myers, and more gave people a taste of who they are this year and will come on in an even bigger way in 2025.
The Underappreciated
With each passing year, there will inevitably be artists who do great things but don’t get their moment in the spotlight. That was the case for many artists in 2024, but they deserve to get flowers for doing great things.
The Red Clay Strays were arguably the group of the year and were recognized for their efforts. However, with their quality of music, they should’ve been given even more credit. They put out one of the best (if not the best) albums of the year, Made By These Moments, which also featured two of the best songs of the year in “I’m Still Fine” and “No One Else Like Me.” On top of that, they put on one of the best live shows out there. The Red Clay Strays are firing on all cylinders, and they get recognized for it, but still not nearly often enough.
Kameron Marlowe quietly released an incredible album, Keepin’ The Lights On. He has some of the best raw vocals in country music and has taken strides this year as a songwriter. His song “Never Really Know” is similar to “Jesus Saves” in that it puts things into perspective and changes how society views serious issues. He also had a duet with Ella Langley, “Strangers,” which was unbelievable but was largely forgotten, given it was released in January, so it just got buried under the rest of everything. Today, he is criminally underrated, and hopefully, he will get more credit in 2025.
Finally, Chase Rice released an independent album, Go Down Singin’. He was also one of the most underappreciated artists of 2023 when he dropped I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go To Hell. Rice built off that energy and wrote true, down-to-earth, deep music reflecting his life. He is night and day from the radio-hungry, bro-country artist he once was, and he still hasn’t been fully recognized for it. He had a fantastic year and has more than earned credit for his artistic pivot.
The Chaos
Outside of all things directly music-related, country music in 2024 was just pure chaos from start to finish. There was an abundance of different “beef,” from multiple artists getting arrested to breakups and much more.
It started off in January with the Zach Bryan vs. Walker Hayes beef. Zach Bryan took a shot at Walker Hayes’s song “Fancy Like” with a snarky comment about its success on the radio over Tyler Childers. In classic Zach Bryan fashion, he posted his apology within a few hours, but that wasn’t enough to keep Walker Hayes from writing a song in response: “Something in the orange tells me you’re feeling green.”
That wasn’t the only time Zach Bryan’s Twitter rants got him into trouble. Much later in the year, he tweeted, “Eagles > Chiefs, Kanye > Taylor, who’s with me?” The Swifties were immediately unhappy about that, and Bryan took significant heat for his comment. Of course, Bryan was involved in plenty of other drama throughout the year, but that’s a story for another article. Despite all the chaos he created, he may have claimed the biggest “cool factor” of anyone in country music thanks to collaborations with Bruce Springsteen, John Mayor, and his surprise live album release.
Morgan Wallen may have only released two songs this year, but stayed firmly in the headlines. He had another wildly successful tour and canceled more dates for being sick yet again. Even so, he got his flowers for putting on the best show in country music and finally received the Entertainer of the Year award. He also had a hell of a time at Chief’s On Broadway, where he infamously threw the chair and got arrested. The chair became one of the longest-running stories (and jokes) of the year, and it finally ended after he was sentenced at the beginning of December.
When we thought the year was finally coming to a calming close, Oliver Anthony stepped in. While he never directly called him out, Anthony heavily implied that Parker McCollum was using a backtrack for his live sets, causing an uproar of fans coming to McCollum’s defense. It was another classic Oliver Anthony rant that reminded people that he still exists. This led to a strange video of Parker McCollum defending himself while riding a horse to show how country he was. The whole situation was super awkward and uncomfortable for everyone uninvolved. Regardless, Parker is great to live without backing tracks, and Oliver Anthony is still stirring the pot.
Overall, 2024 seemed to have a little bit of everything, and we wouldn’t have it any other way!
Here’s to 2025!`
