Melanie Sabol – Copy Editor
Luke, Jason, and Eric are some of this century’s top country artists. All three of these men provide the country listeners with songs they can relate to about heartbreak and love. Yet, there are those songs that are just fun and have a great rhythm to them – so is country music the new “thing?”
For quite a few years now, I have been heading up to Hartford to go to country concerts each summer and while I am there, people in flannel and cowboy boots surround me. It’s a great time to mingle and chat with people who like the same music as I do – yet, there are those who are “summer” country fans. But those fans that were once just summertime country listeners now have Country 92.5 as a preset on their radios.
Florida Georgia Line has taken this country by storm with their hit single “Cruise.” Shortly after “Cruise” was released, Florida Georgia Line released a remix with Nelly, which put country band on pop stations such as KC 101.
However, Florida Georgia Line was not the first country group to go onto a pop station. Taylor Swift, who was predominantly a country singer when her career began, has now taken more to the pop culture.

She has performed on many music award shows and her latest album does not have the same country sound that she began with in her self-titled album. Though she is still classified as a country artist, I wouldn’t be surprised if within her next couple albums that changes to pop.
For Heather Macchi, a senior here at Southern Connecticut State University, country music is nothing new to her. “Yes country is the new fad,” said Macchi, “Everyone likes it and has a crush on Luke Bryan. I feel like we like the music because he sings about things that we can relate to, and the fact that he looks good doesn’t hurt either!”
Music is meant to speak to you. Nothing beats a live concert for Macchi. “I’ve been to a few country concerts and they were a blast. I was hooked on country music from my first country concert at the Comcast Theater. But, I do believe that country music is here and that it is here to stay,” said Macchi.
But for some people, they don’t believe that country is the new fad. Mark Tibor, a junior here at Southern Connecticut State University, thinks otherwise. “I have noticed country music becoming more popular. Country music is not like what it used to be. Country music today is more of a two-step pop song,” said Tibor.
Tibor believes that country music should be what it once was, “When country was good it was a genre of its own. Conway Twity, Loretta Lynn, and Hank Williams Jr. are all great examples of what country music should be,” said Tibor.

Tibor is right, there are no longer the greats around such as Johnny Cash, Pasty Cline, and George Jones to put out new music. But, with a new century here and a new group of listeners, the music that the greats once put out would not be what our youth listens to today.
Music is all about what reaches into your soul and touches you. That may not be the sound of Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard anymore but with these new artists on the rise, they are trying to attract a younger audience. The greats are a group of people that relate to our parents or even our parents generation. Don’t be mistaken though, country music is here to stay and becoming increasingly more popular.