Between chart domination and stadium tours, there's no denying that country music has been on a hot streak lately. As the likes of Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson and Morgan Wallen help the genre achieve mainstream success, a renewed popularity in the country's traditional stylings has been front and center — and there's a new wave of rising stars continuing the trend.
Of course, country's twangy soundscapes — augmented by everything from blistering banjos to meandering mandolin, fiery fiddle and some of the most earnest songwriting around — have been persistent for decades. Plenty of stars, including Chris Stapleton, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert and Ashley McBryde, have taken cues from genre trailblazers like George Strait and Dolly Parton. But more than a decade after the bro-country explosion and the pop-country takeover, country music may be going back to its roots more than it has in years.
Among the new generation of country traditionalists is Randall King, who kicks off 2024's slate of traditional releases with his second studio album, Into The Neon, on Jan. 26. When it comes to the invigorated allure of country music's roots, the Texan has his theories.
"Traditional country music is more about the song, people writing from the heart and telling great stories rather than pandering to a commercial audience," he tells GRAMMY.com.
Below, King and seven others in the new crop of traditional country artists reflect on their musical roots and the subgenre's resurgence.
Jackson Dean
Hometown: Odenton, MD\
Signed label/publishing deal: 2021\
Listen to: "Don't Come Lookin'," which peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart in February 2022
Since releasing his debut album, Greenbroke, in March 2022, Jackson Dean has continued to prove he's a star in the making. Greenbroke's lead single, "Don't Come Lookin,'" made him the youngest solo male country artist to top the Country Aircheck charts with their debut, landing at No. 3 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart as well. The Maryland-born, Nashville-based singer is on his way to similar success with his follow-up single, "Fearless (The Echo)," which resides at No. 18 on the Country Airplay chart as of press time.
With a vocal presence that conjures up the gritty mystique of Johnny Cash's "Man In Black" and liveliness of Luke Combs, Dean says he appreciates the full spectrum of country sounds, no matter where or how it's formed. As for the current traditional boom, Dean credits the internet for the current traditional boom.
"[With] social media and memes, people are able to pull things out of the archives and share them to a new audience,"speculates Dean. "There is also a love of nostalgia these days and a bit of a trend of romanticizing things of the past. What's old becomes beloved again."
Dylan Gossett
Hometown: Austin, TX\
Signed label/publishing deal: 2023\
Listen to: "Coal," which has amassed over 75 million streams
Inspired as much by crossover stars like Zach Bryan as he is by traditionalists like Alan Jackson, Dylan Gossett began making waves this past spring with his covers of the Lumineers' "Ophelia" and Flatland Cavalry's "A Life Where We Work Out" posted online. But soon his originals really put him on the map.
The lifelong Texan went viral in July with his second-ever single, "Coal," a humble and stripped-back song of struggle. "Coal" closes out Gossett's six-song debut EP, No Better Time, which taps into the traditional sound with a simple instrumental that doesn't overpower, but instead compliments deeply vulnerable and metaphorical lyrics like "They say pressure makes diamonds/ How the hell am I still coal?"
Gossett became the first artist to sign with Big Loud Texas (an offshoot of Big Loud Records co-founded by Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall) in November. Less than a month later, he announced his first headlining tour, which sold out in less than a week.
So, why does Gossett think traditional country music is on the rebound? "I think people are diving back into real instrument and lyric-driven music," he says.
Kimberly Kelly
Hometown: Lorena, TX\
Signed label/publishing deal: 2021\
Listen to: "Summers Like That" from 2022's "I'll Tell You What's Gonna Happen," her Show Dog Nashville debut
While growing up in Texas, Kimberly Kelly watched her mom struggle to chase musical dreams while simultaneously pursuing a master's degree. In 2012, Kelly's sister Kristen earned a record deal in Nashville and brought her on the road, giving her a behind-the-scenes look at the music business — ultimately inspiring her own artist journey.
Enter the aptly titled I'll Tell You What's Gonna Happen, Kelly's long-awaited 2022 debut full of classic country sass, dynamic vocals and compelling storytelling.. With songs like "Honky Tonk Town," "Blue Jean Country Queen" and a cover of Billy Joe Shaver's "Black Rose," the record honors torchbearers like Patsy Cline and Patty Loveless with a mix of easy-going ballads and hard-driving bangers.
"I think it always comes back around because it's about real-life storytelling," Kelly says of the traditional sound. "Even I enjoy catchy bops, good grooves and songs that don't make me have to think too much, but every now and then you need to hear something that really tugs at your heart."
Randall King
Hometown: Hereford, TX\
Signed label/publishing deal: 2019\
Listen to: "You In A Honky Tonk" from 2022's Shot Glass, King's debut album for Warner Music Nashville
After building an independent following through a rigorous touring schedule, he eventually signed with Warner Music Nashville in September 2019. As his 2022 LP, Shot Glass, displays, King playfully mixes the lightheartedness of Jon Pardi with the sincerity of George Strait. Its forthcoming follow-up, the 18-track Into The Neon, will further tackle old school tropes through a modern lens, as evidenced on "Burns Like Her" and "Hang Of Hangin' On."
"I believe there's a way to blend some modernism into traditionalism," King suggests. "In this day and age you can take advantage of technology that you didn't have before and create great sounds. Sounds that are edgy yet natural while still holding to the roots and the value of traditional country music."
Emily Nenni
Hometown: Orinda, CA\
Signed label/publishing deal: 2022\
Listen to: "Can Chaser" from 2022's On The Ranch, her debut album for New West Records
Raised on her parents' Patsy Cline and Hank Williams cassettes, it's no surprise that Emily Nenni turned into a honky tonk queen.
Approaching a decade in Nashville, the artist put her name on the map in 2022 with her New West Records debut On The Ranch, a collection of songs that largely came together during a stint on a Colorado ranch in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has everything traditional purists love — a blistering backbeat, plenty of pedal steel and lyrics about everything from strained relationships to baddass barrel racers. A follow-up to it is expected to come later this year.
"Traditional country music has such charm. It's honest, it's playful, it's sad, it's rowdy," Nenni says. "Some people love it because they want to go dancing all night at the honky tonks. Others are listening for the lyricism. Even some folks who just like it for the cowboy boots! There are all kinds of reasons and all kinds of people, and that makes me happy."
Jenna Paulette
Hometown: Lewisville, TX\
Signed label/publishing deal: 2021\
Listen to: "You Ain't No Cowboy" from 2023's The Girl I Was
Some of Jenna Paulette's earliest memories involve helping tend to her family's ranch and singing along to songs from the Chicks, Shania Twain and Reba McEntire with her siblings from the back seat of their piping hot gold Suburban. Even 10 years into living in Nashville, she makes it back to West Texas to help work the land whenever she isn't on the road or writing.
That blue-collar work ethic and humility has not only paid off on the farm, but in her musical pursuits as well. In 2022, CMT named her as part of its Next Women of Country class. Then in March 2023, Apple Music named her Country Riser of the Month as she celebrated the release of her transformative debut album, The Girl I Was. On the 16-song project, she fuses the sounds of Twain and Miranda Lambert, tackling mental health with the somber "You Ain't No Cowboy" and waxing philosophical on "Country In The Girl."
Whether back at home checking cattle or on some stage singing her songs, Paulette plans to keep her boots dirty and her soul clean every step of the way.
"I think people are craving something real in a world that breeds fast food, clickbait fame and the appearance of perfection," Paulette hypothesizes. "They want homemade biscuits, depth and family. They need something to remind them of their roots. The things I hold dearest and want to exemplify with my music are the things I think so many are longing to know still exist in our culture. It's actually pretty beautiful and gives me hope for the future."
Brit Taylor
Hometown: Hindman, KY\
Signed label/publishing deal: 2023\
Listen to: "No Cowboys" from 2023's Kentucky Blue, which was co-produced by Dave Ferguson and Sturgill Simpson
Brit Taylor hit rock bottom after a decade in Nashville. Between 2017 and 2018, she went through a divorce, her band disbanded, she nearly lost her home and lost her publishing deal.
But in the years since, she's bounced back in stunning fashion, beginning with the release of her solo debut, 2020's Real Me. Its highly anticipated follow-up, 2023's Sturgill Simpson and Dave Ferguson co-produced Kentucky Blue, was praised for its sincere storytelling and classic country soundscapes, leading to her Grand Ole Opry and performances on bigger and bigger stages in the months that followed.
With plans to release Kentucky Bluegrassed — an eight-track project containing five previously recorded originals done bluegrass-style along with three new tunes — on Feb. 2, Taylor will be incorporating the sounds of her Appalachian youth into her music more than ever before. Despite shifting sounds, Taylor says that today's modern studio tools can still be used to embrace the traditional, citing Kacey Musgraves as an example of someone who blends "the bells and whistles and all the styles she loves while still being her authentic self."
"At the end of the day, traditionalist or not, I think artists should be themselves and not try to chase after the current trends or even try to chase their past selves," Taylor proclaims. "Every artist should feel free to be true to the person they are at the moment they are in."
Zach Top
Hometown: Sunnyside, WA\
Signed label/publishing deal: 2021\
Listen to: "Like It Ain't No Thing," which reached No. 1 on the Bluegrass Today charts in February 2022
Opposite of Taylor, Zach Top is looking to parlay an upbringing in bluegrass music into a career in country music. After reaching No. 1 on the Bluegrass Today charts with "Like It Ain't No Thing" in early 2022, Top became the first signee to independent Nashville label Leo33 in September 2023.
Since then, the Washington state transplant has released a series of singles including the Kenny Chesney-esque "Busy Doin' Nothin' and George Jones-fueled croons on "Justa Jonesin'." Each song has been twangier than the last, as Top recounts his love of the "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" and "White Lightning" eras of country music that shaped him — a concept he's expected to further delve into on the 12-song Cold Beer & Country Music out April 5.
"I think Nashville lost some of its soul in the last decade or two," asserts Top. "And I think that people, audiences, radio listeners, ticket buyers, whoever it is, got pretty tired of that. So they're looking for something that's got some more soul. And I think that absence of soul is why you see some of the real, raw-sounding music become very popular with people. We lost a lot of soul for a long time. People want soul."