The Year In Country: New Headliners, Crossovers and Mainstream Appeal Put Country Music Back On Top

Trends move fast in popular culture, and those who haven’t had time to stop and smell the roses may forget that country music a decade or two ago was where popstars honed their craft before taking off the training wheels and going full pop.

These days, rather than Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus trading in their cowboy hats and boots, it’s the other way around. There’s no better example than former soundcloud rapper Post Malone. The face-tattoo-covered artist made his bones as a hip-hop hitmaker, whose penchant for catchy melodies and pleasant vocal stylings worked in contemporary festival settings, putting him on some of the biggest stages in the world.

A Texas boy at heart and talented multi-instrumentalist, Post Malone’s dabblings in country music were more than cosplay, leading to a full — and acclaimed — country music album spawning even more hits, a country-specific headlining set at the multi-genre Outside Lands festival in San Francisco and full “Big Ass Stadium Tour” set for 2025 with fellow country upstart Jelly Roll, a similarly sized rapid ascent to the top of the country music world.

More and more, the words “contemporary” and “country” are finding themselves in the same sentences when discussing tour packages and festival lineups.

“I love what Post Malone and Jelly are doing. It feels very 2025 to me,” said Jonathan Shank of Terrapin Station Entertainment, whose sports division books and consults for more than 15 stadiums in the United States. “I love the genre bending, I love the contemporary feel of it.”

And, although off-cycle tour-wise, Beyoncé’s own country album, Cowboy Carter, racked up 11 Grammy nominations, making it the most nominated solo album of Queen Bey’s career. And with the track “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the R&B/pop icon became the first Black woman with a No. 1 single on the Hot Country Songs chart. She explained that her decision to take on the genre was “born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed,” which led her to a deep dive into the history of Black artists’ contributions to country.

Zach Bryan, No. 8 on Pollstar’s Year End Top Worldwide Tours chart, sees as much of an overnight success as can be remembered in recent years, smashing attendance records at arena across the United States and topping festival lineups — including headlining an Americana-leaning Bourbon and Beyond festival in Louisville in September that saw 60,000 people in attendance, breaking records for the event. Already set to headline Stagecoach in 2025, Bryan is now slated to play a special one-off at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, a city not exactly known as a bastion for popular country music. With headline grosses resembling blockbuster pop tours, Bryan — much like Morgan Wallen last year — has proven that country music can hang with the big boys and girls.

Speaking of, Lainey Wilson has become a household name after nearly a decade marinating as the next big thing in bellbottoms — her own hit single may have said it best, “Country’s Cool Again.” Wilson became the first female CMA Entertainer of the Year since 2011 (back when Taylor Swift was still county) and, after years of smaller gigs and strong support slots, is now solidly headlining arenas and grossing into the $1 million mark.
“Contemporary Western Rock and Roll is what I like to call this genre,” said Bruce Kalmick, founder of management company WHY&HOW and co-founder of Cattle Country Music Festival. “That’s become the biggest genre in the world. Your Lollapaloozas and ACLs of the world, from what I see, are starting to incorporate more of the contemporary western rock and roll, more Americana. That’s what the people want.”

With 2025 already shaping up as a strong country year, the only question may be whether Taylor or Miley go country again.