With the inaugural edition of State Fayre coming up (June 26-28), following the ongoing impact of C2C Festival, it’s noticeable that country fandom in the UK has increased massively in the last few years. Here, Tilly O'Brien, PR manager at DawBell, unpacks what the genre’s growth tells us about audience building and how country music has become such a huge part of the cultural conversation…
Country music is quickly becoming one of the most interesting growth stories in the UK music industry.
It’s fair to say that a few years ago, country was not a genre being talked about on a daily basis outside its core fanbase. But fast forward to now, and country artists are not only cutting through in mainstream music spaces, but appearing across fashion ads, integrating with sports teams and landing campaigns with global brands.
Country fandom in the UK has increased massively in that time. According to the CMA, UK country music consumption grew 10.9% last year, the fastest of anywhere in the world.
So what’s shifted?
One of the biggest lessons from country music's rise is that audiences no longer discover artists through traditional genre ecosystems alone. Fans are finding artists through social media, personality-led content and wider cultural conversations, allowing country acts to reach audiences far beyond their traditional fanbases.
As a result, over the last 18 months we've seen more and more country artists break beyond genre-specific siloes and into the mainstream media.
Artists such as Ella Langley have demonstrated just how quickly this can happen, becoming cultural talking points well beyond the country space. Her rise has been incredible, recently becoming only the sixth woman ever to lead the Artist 100, Hot 100 and Billboard 200 simultaneously, alongside Taylor Swift, Adele, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande and Olivia Rodrigo.
The genre itself has become much harder to define in narrow terms. Country is no longer confined to one conventional sound or type of audience, instead it's increasingly intersecting with pop, hip-hop and wider mainstream culture. High-profile collaborations such as Dua Lipa performing with Chris Stapleton and Harry Styles sharing the stage with Shania Twain have helped introduce country music to entirely new audiences.
At the same time, artists like Post Malone and Shaboozey are demonstrating that country music can sit comfortably alongside other genres, attracting fans who may never have considered themselves country listeners.
Since working with artists such as Riley Green, Zach Top and Tucker Wetmore, we've found these engaged digital audiences to be a key driver in securing opportunities with mainstream media. Rather than relying solely on traditional music coverage, our strategy has focused on creating content that can live across platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
For Riley Green's first trip to London with DawBell last September, we partnered with JOE.co.uk on a light-hearted long-form video that generated more than one million views across social platforms. Similarly, Tucker Wetmore's recent Kentish Town Forum takeover saw him featured in MTV UK's Backstage Pass series.
One of the biggest lessons from country music's rise is that audiences no longer discover artists through traditional genre ecosystems alone
Tilly O'Brien
The wider industry can learn a great deal from this approach. The artists breaking through today aren't necessarily those with the biggest radio campaigns – they're the ones creating communities and giving audiences a reason to engage beyond the music itself.
By adopting a digital-first mindset and focusing on cultural relevance through social content, country artists have been able to move beyond genre-specific spaces and into fashion, sports and lifestyle areas, positioning them as mainstream cultural figures rather than musicians operating in a niche genre .
Riley Green created the guide to wearing a cowboy hat with British Vogue for their TikTok page, a crossover that generated more than 288,000 views and demonstrated how country culture is increasingly finding a place within mainstream fashion conversations. Zach Top took over a pool table bar in February ahead of his C2C headline show with various digital media outlets in attendance for his second ever time in the UK.
The result of this momentum is clear to see in the live sector, where demand for country artists continues to reach new heights. When Zach Top made his UK debut earlier this year, he did so with a headline show at London's O2 Arena [for C2C] – a remarkable achievement for an artist visiting the market for the first time and a clear indication of the audience already waiting for him. Similarly, both Riley Green and Tucker Wetmore sold out three nights in Kentish Town during their recent London runs, demonstrating the scale of demand that now exists for country artists in the UK.
This is perhaps the clearest lesson for the wider music industry. Mainstream visibility creates fandom, fandom creates community, and community ultimately drives ticket sales. The artists who are successfully crossing into culture beyond the music itself are the ones turning online engagement into real-world audiences.
And that demand shows no signs of slowing down. This summer alone will see country fans out in force across the UK, with major events including State Fayre Festival, Luke Combs at Wembley Stadium, Garth Brooks at BST Hyde Park and a host of other country moments.
For an industry looking to understand how genres break into the mainstream, country music offers a compelling blueprint. By embracing social media, building personality-led campaigns and creating cultural relevance beyond the music itself, country artists have transformed casual listeners into dedicated fans – and the UK's booming live market is proof that the strategy is working.
PHOTO: Zach Top performs during C2C Festival at the Uber Eats Music Hall, Berlin (credit: Frank Hoensch/Redferns/Getty)
