The year London went wild for country music

Normally the preserve of heartbroken Americans in Stetsons, the genre is being embraced by British stars, leading to a new crop of young UK acts and festivals, says Jonathan Kanengoni

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WITH its Stetsons, pick-up trucks and lyrical tales of heartbreak in lonely bars, country music is perhaps the quintessential genre of American music. But give or take a Shania Twain or a Dolly Parton, it had rarely made a dent in the UK charts until recently. Over the past two years, however, streaming of country stars' music has risen almost 50 per cent in the UK, according to data from the Country Music Association, making it our fastest growing genre.

This new popularity is echoed by some of the UK's biggest artists, including Ed Sheeran, who recently released Life Goes On with country star Luke Combs, performing it with him at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Nashville last week. "I would love to transition into country," Sheeran told Billboard backstage at the event. "I love the culture of it - I love the songwriting. It's just, like, brilliant songs." Combs has had two UK top five albums and a headline slot at the Country 2 Country festival in London, while the US's biggest country star, Morgan Wallen, has sold out his December show at the 02 as his song Last Night rises up the charts after weeks at No 1 in the States.

UK fans are also embracing subgenres such as country trap, a fusion with hiphop that was led by rapper Lil Nas X, whose Billy Ray Cyrus collaboration Old Town Road topped the charts in 2019.

Country music events in Britain are growing in popularity too. Some 20,000 fans attended the C2C festival in March, and this weekend Highways, hosted by Live Nation, will take over the Royal Albert Hall to showcase some of the brightest stars from both sides of the Atlantic. America's Kip Moore will headline, along with singer-songwriter