The Mix: The Rock Fan’s Guide to Not Hating Country Music

By Mike Bachmann ’17

Anyone who loves music can vouch for me and say that they really love a genre and really despise a genre. For those rock fans who say they can’t listen to country, this is your ultimate guide to not hating it.

Summer is just around the corner, and country music is the prominent genre of choice. Rock and country are more alike than people realize. They derive from the same roots, being rhythm and blues. In addition, they incorporate similar instrumentation: Guitars, usually acoustic and electric, backed by a drum kit. Honestly, sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish a country song from a rock song.

Little nuances separate the genres and make them their own. Country is more apt to incorporate other instruments, including the fiddle and the banjo. The lyrics are also much more important in country than in rock. The music itself is pretty simple, which allows the lyrics to pop. They tell a story, usually about a girl, a truck or maybe a girl driving that truck. There’s sometimes some kind of loss, too: Did the girl steal the guy’s truck?

But in the end, country is straightforward, honest and (more often than not) upbeat, feel good music. More often than not the girl and the guy get in that truck together and drive off into the sunset, or more likely a backyard barbecue.

So give it a try! Some artists to get you started: Luke Bryan, Zac Brown Band and Toby Keith, to name a few. If it truly doesn’t work out for you, you always have classic rock as the perfect alternative. There is so much great music out there, so check it out. Have a great summer.