Bro-Country Era

tagStarted 2012Peak 2013-2016Last big hit 2017

Located in 1 route

Party-country with rock and hip-hop production: drum-machine claps, EDM-tinged builds, rapped cadences, and crunchy electric guitars. Hooky, repetitive choruses about trucks, dirt roads, tailgates, cold beer, and girls in cutoffs. Loud, glossy, and beat-driven, with twang reduced to a stylistic accent.

History

Florida Georgia Line's 2012 'Cruise' (the first Diamond-certified country single) ignited the trend, and critic Jody Rosen coined 'bro-country' in 2013. Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, and Jake Owen dominated radio with party anthems; research estimated bro-country was nearly half of country's top sellers mid-decade before a fatigue-driven correction around 2016-2017.

Defining artists

Florida Georgia LineSpotify YouTube
Luke BryanSpotify YouTube
Jason AldeanSpotify YouTube
Jake OwenSpotify YouTube
Cole SwindellSpotify YouTube
Chase RiceSpotify YouTube

Essential listening

Cruise — Florida Georgia LineSpotify YouTube
That's My Kind of Night — Luke BryanSpotify YouTube
Dirt Road Anthem — Jason AldeanSpotify YouTube
Beachin' — Jake OwenSpotify YouTube
Chillin' It — Cole SwindellSpotify YouTube

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Sources

Jody Rosen, New York magazine (2013)
Billboard 'Cruise' 10th-anniversary feature
Wikipedia: Bro-country
Wide Open Country / Taste of Country reporting