How Country Music is Influencing Fans
Dierks Bentley shotgunning a beer with a fan on stage
If you
are in the Boston area and you turn on the radio to Country 102.5 or 101.7 The
Bull there is a very strong chance you will hear a song about drinking alcohol. On Billboard's Top 100 Hot Country Songs of 2014, 68
songs references drinking. Whether
it’s Deriks Bentley’s “Drunk on a Plane”, Eli Young Band's "Drunk Last Night." Little Big Town's "Day Drinking,
Lee Brice’s "Drinking Class" or Toby Keith's "Drinks After Work" almost every popular country
song mentions something to do with drinking. As country music becomes
more popular it's hard to ignore the strong influence of a drinking culture,
whether it is in the lyrics of songs on the radio or the atmosphere of country concerts, it seems the idea of alcohol is always prevalent.
The most popular style of
country music called “Bro Country” which Fox News defines it as “a sub-genre of
country music that is used to describe songs about partying, long summer nights
filled with red Solo cups and girls in painted-on jeans.” Bro country songs,
such as “Round here” By Florida Gerogia Line, “Beachin” By Jake Owen” or “Parking
Lot Party” by Lee Brice, all these songs are about having a good time but all reference alcohol. "I think country music does have a drinking problem, it
always has," Taste of Country head writer Billy Dukes told FOX411.
"And bro country songs definitely promote that sort of thing, but it's not
so much the drinking for me, it's this implicit thing that drinking excessively
is OK. That every good time means having a bottle has to be in your hand."
Are all these songs about drinking influencing its listerners
in a negative way? Since the most popular country songs are about having a good time while drinking beer it makes the younger listeners think that they have to drink to have a good time, which isn't true. This idea of having to drink a lot to have a good time, especially at a young age, usually ends up badly.
In the summertime, country concerts are a very popular event
to attend. Most concerts take place in an outdoor venue such as Gillette Stadium in Foxboro Mass or The Xfinity Center in Mansfield Mass, which was
recently named one of the most dangerous places in Massachusetts due to all the
arrest made and one alleged rape. In
July of 2013 Keith Urban played a concert at The Xfinity Center in Mansfield.
At this concert more than 50 people were arrested and 46 people were transported to the
hospital. They were all alcohol related incidents. Also at this concert a
17-year-old girl was rapped by an 18-year-old on the lawn section of the venue.
Both teenagers were drinking at this concert. When Keith Urban found out about the events that happened at his concert he was horrified. George Dentino who is chairman of the board of
selectman of Mansfield, Massachusetts told Fox News “age groups we see at
country shows have been a much younger audience," Dentino states “This
younger group comes first to party and secondary to that is the show." I have been to a couple of country concerts and I have noticed that people will come to the concert just for the tailgate because of the fun atmosphere and they won't care about the show that is going on.
One of the many reasons that country music has become very popular to
younger ages is because country music is moving away from the actual country/
folk sound and focusing more on mixing in pop and even rap with country. It is
almost hard to believe that Johnny Cash’s song “Ring of Fire” and Sam Hunt’s
song “House Party” are both considered to be part of the country music genre. “House
Party” like almost any popular country song today is very catchy up beat song and sounds
more pop than country. This makes it easier for a lot of younger listeners to like it. Due to the catchy up beat music that country artist are coming
out with it is creating a new audience and creating its own culture of people wanting to act like what is mention in the songs or what is seen on stage or in a music video of a country song.
Work Cited
Bogursky, Sasha. "Country Music's Drinking Problem." Fox News. FOX News Network, 08 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.
Bogursky, Sasha. "Keith Urban 'horrified' by Alleged Rape, Multiple Arrests at Massachusetts Concert." Fox News. N.p., 1 Aug. 2014. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.
Smith, Grandy. "Does Country Music Have a Drinking Problem?" The Guardian. N.p., 2 Dec. 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.
I like that you addressed the drinking problem in country music. Although I don't necessarily think of it as a problem and more of just a fun way of talking to make good music, I definitely see where you're coming from in saying it may cause problems. I like how you used venues that are in Mass to further relate the topic to show that the drinking references actually influence people saying how younger crowds are drinking at shows. Overall I thought it was a good blog and I enjoyed the references and points you made.
ReplyDeleteI love country music and honestly never thought about artists influencing audiances, it's definitely a different idea to think about. It is a hard thing to think about but I also just think that since our society thinks that acceptable people going out in ambulances that it just seems okay. A lot of people think of it differently but now that you mention it a lot of country songs do talk about drinking , and the question is does it actually influence drinking ? Or is that just people trying to have fun?
ReplyDeleteI thought your blog was very interesting by relating country music to the problem of drinking. It surprised me to hear that there have been so many alcohol related incidents at country concerts but it by you further explaining the popular country songs it began to make sense and really highlighted the alcohol problem. It made me curious to find out if there is any correlation between drug use at rap concerts because of the many references used in that type of music.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this piece! It is very helpful and informative. Would love to see more updates from you.
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