Politicizing the Heartland: The Conservative Instrumentalization of Country Music

“Baptize me in a bottle of Beam, put Johnny on the vinyl.”

The lyrics of Zach Bryan’s “Revival” speak to the soul of rural America: whiskey and country music. Lines of musical sessions, religious footnotes and Johnny Cash evoke emotions of youthfulness, small-town life and human connection. However, when Bryan, a 29-year-old country music artist, plays “Revival” for a packed crowd of over 50,000 fans, the song becomes more than lyrics; it becomes a revival of country music in and of itself.

Bryan’s self-titled 2023 album, Zach Bryan, received over 141 million streams within the first week. This is not an isolated occurrence across the country music genre – artists such as Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Bailey Zimmerman have been topping the charts at rates unseen in decades. In March 2023, Wallen’s “Last Night” became the first solo male country music song to top Billboard’s Hot 100 charts since 1981. A few months later, Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” peaked at number 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100, trailing only Wallen’s “Last Night”. These “new” artists are positioning country music at the forefront of the American music scene, blending traditional beats with modern themes and diverse influences. Despite its decades of latency and unpopularity, being seen as a “shabby farmer genre”, country music is making its comeback.

Given country music’s association with the American South and its conservative majority, it is difficult to ignore the correlation of country music's revival with the rise of the far-right in the US. However, can one link these phenomena? Is country music inseparable from conservatism?

Country music does not have a discernible root from a certain location or demographic. Instead, it is a conglomeration of diverse genres, including those of Brits, Scots, Polynesians, Evangelical Christians and African Americans. Instruments typically associated with country music also have diverse origins, from the Hawaiian steel guitar to the banjo, which originated in West Africa.

Until the 20th century, country music was not affiliated with a specific political ideology. Instead, it was a genre popular amongst the working class, African and Mexican Americans and rural citizens. For most of its history, the base of country music has been rooted in class, not in race or party. The political charge of country music did not actually arise until the late-20th century. Up until this point, the American South, the cradle of country music, was not dominated by the Republican Party. In fact, most white, blue-collar southerners were members of the Democratic Party, which had begun to factionalize over issues of segregation and federalism. The Republican Party’s Southern Strategy capitalized upon this schism, effectively mobilizing white southerners to hop ship.

Country music’s nonpartisanship began to shift in President Richard Nixon’s 1972 reelection campaign, taking inspiration from George Wallace, the infamous segregationist governor of Alabama, who instrumentalized country music in his 1968 presidential campaign. Nixon worked to pull working- and middle-class white people in the South from the Democratic to the Republican Party. To do so, he recruited Merle Haggard, integrating “Okie from Muskogee” into his campaign, a song which criticized hippies, counterculture and the anti-war movement. By affiliating traditional country music with the Republican Party, Nixon and Haggard effectively infused a previously apolitical genre with acutely political tones: conservative masculinity, white nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiments.

Ever since Nixon’s landslide 1972 victory, country music and conservatism have paralleled each other. In 2001, they fused further. Post-9/11, the U.S. experienced a wave of white nationalism, shifting farther politically right. Country music reflected this: songs with themes of simple living, marginalization and conflict with authority became songs referencing the ‘rally around the flag’, beer-drinking and romanticization of small towns – something that inherently alludes to white nationalism and anti-immigrant policy, upholding the concept of a “simple” and “neat” white America, cleansed from the crime, homelessness and poverty which the far-right blames on cities’ diversity.

Given country music's and conservatism's twin history, is the former’s recent resurgence reflective of the latter’s rise? A New York Times article by Tressie McMillan Cottom stated that the current conservative political climate in the U.S. “makes country music [...] a good fit for the moment”. Cottom argues that the far-right is scrambling to create a political pop culture to rectify their lack of cultural institutions, and is claiming country music as a part of that culture. Although the claim that the far-right and the Make American Great Again movement lack cultural power is debatable, the far-right’s annexation of country music as a cultural artifact is a clear demonstration of the conservative nostalgia which is settling over the U.S. today.

There is a deep yearning across the U.S. to ‘return’ to an America unplagued by the economic and cultural crises that the nation witnesses today, according to The Federalist editor Samuel Mangold-Lenett. “Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit and Authoritarian-Populism” by Pippa Norris, British-American political scientist, describes the idea that the rise of populist authoritarian politics can be described by a sense of threat to tradition, felt acutely by traditionalists who feel alienated as society changes without them. We see this phenomenon today, as American farmers and blue-collar workers are dubbed unintelligent, unworthy and distasteful, while politicians in the Democratic Party turn their attention to doctoral students and urbanites. 

Country music offers a safe haven from these rapid social changes. Songs such as Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” sing of a world that is no longer “for people like me, people like you”, yearning for a nation in which “politicians would look out for miners”. Thus, country music is instrumentalized by the far right, as they empower populist figures such as Donald Trump. This movement can be seen across the nation through trends such as Tradwives and the fetishization of small towns. Situated within the context of the far-right’s rise in the U.S., it would appear that country music is conservative. But looking beyond the songs about tractors, the military and the nuclear family, country music is not inherently conservative.

In fact, “Rich Men North of Richmond” is not conservative at all. After it was played at a Republican Party debate in 2023, Anthony stated, “I wrote that song about those people,” and, “I do hate to see that song being weaponized.” Despite the fact that country music is “adopted” by conservatives, many artists, such as Anthony, do not recognize this claim. And while the globally recognized face of country music is conservative, low brow whites, country music has much more diversity to offer.

Considering country music’s multicultural influences, especially those from African Americans, many artists today are pushing to reclaim the Black history and culture of country music. As mentioned before, country music is deeply intertwined with African American musical traditions and instruments, having been brought to the U.S. by slaves. A key character in this reclamation is Lil’ Nas X, whose country-trap music, with songs such as “Old Town Road”, attest to country music’s diverse history and presence. Alongside this, Beyoncé’s album Cowboy Carter challenges the stereotypical associations of country music with whiteness. In April 2024, Cowboy Carter positioned itself at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums, making her the first Black woman to have led this list.

Despite its clear country music influences, Cowboy Carter has received backlash, with many fans claiming that it is not ‘real’ country music. Big Country, the corporatist industry based in Nashville, seems to agree that Beyoncé does not belong in the genre, demonstrated by the refusal to give her radio airtime and her lack of nominations at the 2024 Country Music Association Awards. Country music is seen as for and by white people, creating an invisible barrier to people of color who want to enter the industry. Executives, often white men themselves, would rather cater to white consumers than honor the diversity that country music is rooted in and is demonstrating today. 

However, country music has never been about conservatism. Throughout its history, it has always been infused with the theme of conflict with authority, poverty and exploitation. Country music sings to the margins, not to a political party.

Despite its nonconservative past, the rightward shift of country music is a signal of a larger cultural shift occurring in the U.S. A return of conservative values regarding masculinity, religion and race, has characterized American political culture since President Trump’s 2024 victory. And, thanks to political history and a current lyrical shift in the genre, country music has been roped into this conservative revolution, becoming intertwined with the far-right.

I do not believe, however, that country music equals conservatism. From The Dixie Chicks to Tim McGraw and Mickey Guyton, progressivism, too, holds a place in country music. And disregarding the diverse, multicultural past and present that have shaped the genre as we know it today is a disservice to country music and all who have helped it become a cornerstone of American culture. 

As an avid country music fan myself, I find solace and nostalgia in its comforting rhythms. Even in Menton, nearly 9000 kilometers from my hometown, Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car replants me in my backyard with my sister, or to my mother’s childhood farm in North Carolina. To me, country music doesn’t represent division and hate; rather, it stands for family, tradition and simplicity. No matter the political charges associated with country music, it is, at its very core, a genre created by humans and for humans.

Photo Source: Public Domain, Picryl