Hardy Says That The Path To Getting A Hit Is “Wide Open” Since The Dissolution Of Bro Country

Things have changed, but in a good way.

Hardy recently dropped by to talk about his new record, COUNTRY! COUNTRY!, and more with Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast, and gave some fascinating insight on how he feels things have changed since he stepped onto the scene. At the start of the interview, it did not take long for host Joseph Hudak to point out that Hardy references “country” in many of the song titles, including his tune “Bro Country,” featuring Ernest, which reflects on that prominent period in country music.

Before breaking out as an artist himself with his 2020 debut album A Rock, Hardy, a genre-bending country rock artist, got his first #1 single not as an artist but as a songwriter with “Up Down,” which was a hit for Morgan Wallen and Florida Georgia Line back in 2018. He would go on to have hits with songs like “I Don’t Know About You” by Chris Lane, FGL’s “Simple,” “God’s Country” by Blake Shelton, and quite a few Morgan Wallen tracks.

While Hardy might not have been the voice behind the tracks that were huge bro country hits, he was at the forefront of the movement and has been able to grow and adapt to the changing environment of country music as it shifted away from bro country. While his track “Bro Country” isn’t celebrating the end of the genre, it does pay homage to that era of country music.

Hardy’s tune is an homage to the ways of bro country, and the lyrics perfectly depict how some artists can still snag a hit with a bro country tune.

“Yeah, no disrespect
Yeah, don’t get me wrong
I’ve been that drunk redneck singing your songs
But whiskey and bandits, outlaws with long hair
Yeah, they’re back with a vengeance, with a fist in the air
It’s so bittersweet
Shutting that Fireball, cut offs
Jacked up truck door
But bro country don’t sound like you anymore

I’m sure there’s a shot
You’ll always have a spot
On the billboard country top ten
But, man, take a look
Them heartbreaks and hooks
Are making their way back in”

In his interview with Rolling Stone, Hardy opens up about his feelings towards the sub-genre, pointing directly to the bridge lyrics, where he says, “You’ll always have a spot/ On the Billboard Country Top Ten.” 

Hardy feels that his “class” of songwriters and artists, who came up in the thick of bro country, is tied heavily to the sound that Nashville dictates. But there is a palpable change happening in country music, and the lane is wide open for what sound can score you a number one hit.

“It made such a profound impact that I feel like whoever can occasionally drop a kind of bro song, and it completely work. You know? But it’s speaking to times are a changing, for the first time… I felt like my era, I officially feel like a sophomore or a junior at this point because you know, my crew was like Lainey (Wilson), Morgan (Wallen), and Ern. Bailey, I’d even put in my group, Nate Smith, I’d put in my group, but we all still kind of have, and we are all very unique in our own way, but there’s a very 615, a Nashville thing.

But there’s a group of people that’s coming up right now, and it’s just different, and people are loving it, and it’s the furthest thing away from like rock and roll sounding drums and stuff. Zach Top, Jake Worthington, Gavin Adcock, there’s just a big organic thing happening right now, and man, there’s no denying it, and that’s just what the song’s about.”

Joseph Hudak then asks Hardy if he believes all country music genres (including the few holding onto bro country) can coexist in the space today. Hardy wholeheartedly considers that to be true and is proud of the strides country music has made.

“Totally. Thank God, country, we’ve come a long way in that; in a way, it’s always been like that. But yeah, right now, especially, it’s just so wide open, like it’s so wide open. Really, ironically, the bro country era, it kind of went back down to here a little bit, and it was a very narrow lane (to succeed). I mean, I remember Tim McGraw putting out ‘Look At That Girl’ and people were like, ‘Whoa, man, he’s putting out bro stuff now?’ 

It was kind of like that was the only way to kind of get to you know, not the only but the path to having a hit became a little more narrow then. But it’s wide open now and I think it’s awesome.” 

Joseph Hudak then praises Hardy for expanding the bro country sound into something that fans like today. While Hardy may have started writing hits for FGL and other bro country artists, he is a perfect example of how to shift and adapt one’s sound to what’s working in the genre today.

Country music is a diverse genre these days, from Hardy’s rock-heavy sound to Marcus King’s blues-infused southern rock, to the neotraditionalists of Jake Worthington and Zach Top, all of whom are accepted in the space, belong in the space, and can find great success within it. And that’s pretty f’ing awesome.

Check out the whole interview while you’re here:

The post Hardy Says That The Path To Getting A Hit Is “Wide Open” Since The Dissolution Of Bro Country first appeared on Whiskey Riff.