No, Aaron Lewis, “California” is Not The Problem with Country Music
Staind frontman and sometimes country music artist Aaron Lewis stopped by Tucker Carlson’s YouTube channel for a wide ranging interview that has some pumping their fists, others shaking them, and pull quotes offering a confused, slightly incomplete, and at times completely wrong perspective on the current state of country music and the problems it faces.
Not dissimilar to a recent interview in GQ with Tyler Childers where he explained why he no longer performs “Feathered Indians,” there’s one major quote making the rounds from Aaron Lewis that has all of social media agog. And frankly, it’s probably the dumbest thing Lewis said in the entire interview, especially in the first 30 minutes when the primary topic was country music. When pressed by Tucker Carlson about what’s happened to country the country genre, Aaron Lewis states,
“It’s been infiltrated by California, just like everything else.”
This answer is simply a stock, reactionary, culture war-inspired, flinging of red meat to a right wing constituency that is not rooted in truth whatsoever. Beyoncé, Post Malone, and BigXthaPlug are all from Texas. Morgan Wallen is from Sneedville, Tennessee. Jelly Roll is the rare Nashville native. Nothing about “California” has anything to do with the reasons mainstream country music sucks these days. If anything, it’s the current California throwback country scene that’s offering a counterbalance to all the crap coming out of the deep corporate South.
And yes, a lot of Californians physically moved to Tennessee during the pandemic. But that doesn’t really have anything to do with the country music industry, aside from on the margins. And sure, maybe Aaron Lewis is speaking more about “California” as a generalized cultural boogeyman, but don’t let the cretins on Music Row originally from the deep South off the hook for selling their own culture down the river just because bashing California makes for a good applause line and goes viral on Facebook.
But once again, context is everything. Early on in the interview as Aaron Lewis is talking about growing up in rural Vermont and listening to classic country played on the radio at his grandparents house, he rightly points to the virtues of Merle Haggard—a native Californian—and how when you go into the rural areas of just about anywhere in America, and you’re in the “country.”
New Englander and native rocker Aaron Lewis is the last person who should be making blanket statements about who is ruining country music, and where they came from. The country music of Aaron Lewis is certainly country, and a lot more country than whatever is on the radio. But nonetheless, he’s still a late career import to the genre.
A moment in the interview where Aaron Lewis is spot on is when he talks about how radio country really has nothing to do with actual country music.
“It’s like the land of the misfit toys. It’s not really country. It’s not really pop. It kind of rides right down the middle of it, and becomes its own thing. And they should call it it’s own thing. It should have its own genre and classification. And instead they call it country. And I don’t know how you can put George Jones and Merle Haggard in the same sentence as Morgan Wallen or Rascal Flatts. How does that correlate?”
It doesn’t. And that is the whole reason this new “Best Traditional Country Album” category at the Grammy Awards is such a critical puzzle piece to perhaps finally finding a way to cleave these two completely separate worlds of music currently being placed under the “country” banner apart. If we can get the CMA Awards, radio, and the Billboard charts (who are changing their country chart manager) to finally recognize these two entirely different genres, it would be much better for both.
But if you continue listening to the pronouncements about the country industry from Aaron Lewis in the interview, you could be misled about certain things. Even complaining about how country music has become “so popified” as Aaron Lewis says feels like a stale argument. It’s very 2014, just like his assessment of the country music industry.
“First you sell your soul to the record label. Then you sell everything else you’ve got to the machine which is the radio that drives music,” Aaron Lewis says. “We are the indentured servant. I think that indentured servitude laws are literally still on the books in California so they can get away with what they do with us.”
Yes, back in the aughts and 2010s, artists were getting screwed left and right with bad label deals, and radio ruled the roost. This was one of the reasons for the founding of Saving Country Music. But that’s not really the case anymore. Nor is it really the case that “radio drives the music.” Now it’s TikTok, while an entirely new avenue has opened up for independent artists who own their own publishing and labels, and sign distribution deal with the majors at handsome percentages.
For example, Zach Bryan is selling out stadiums, and doesn’t even play lip service to radio. Tyler Childers is selling out arenas. The world has changed dramatically.
“Business management takes their percentage, lawyer takes their percentage, management takes their percentage, business manager takes their percentage…” Aaron Lewis says at one point. Well maybe when you have two business managers and a manager, that’s your problem.
Lewis also claims he’s had a billion streams on Spotify, but made virtually no money off of it, before trying to walk it back a bit. Sure, Spotify is an economy of scale, and if you’re a small time artist, your Spotify money is going to be incremental. That’s not the case if you’re Aaron Lewis, unless you’re stuck in a bad deal still, which he might be. After all, he signed to Big Machine Records in the mid 2010s.
Lewis even goes on to cite “360 deals,” which are a relic of 2008-2012 Nashville where a labels took percentages of merch sales and touring as well. But they became so bemoaned, they were generally phased out about a decade ago.
It’s not that Aaron Lewis isn’t right about how bad radio country is today, or how screwed so many artists who signed deals a decade ago were when the industry was still trying to figure out Spotify, and TikTok didn’t even exist. But as the mainstream world has stagnated and lost market share, the independent world has opened up. You might not be able to hear Merle Haggard on the radio. But you can hear Zach Top, while Charley Crockett, Sierra Ferrell, and Tyler Childers are now legitimate stars without radio.
The real issue now is trying to draw a distinction between these two distinct and separate worlds of country music. As opposed to continuing to kvetch about why pop country sucks, it’s time to start enacting solutions, solving country music’s problems, and separating the traditional from the contemporary so we can finally stop complaining all the time about what’s wrong with the genre, and get back to simply enjoying the music.
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August 25, 2025 @ 7:48 am
Before you criticize Aaron Lewis, remember he’s one of tiny percentage of Americans who is willing to bleed, willing to take a bullet for this country. Now he may not be a veteran, but ignore that.
August 25, 2025 @ 8:05 am
It’s easy to have the bravado when one is far past the age to serve. Reminds me of all the whitewashing and propaganda of Hollywood to paint war as “awesome.” Black Rifle Coffee Country annoys the hell out of me.
August 25, 2025 @ 8:32 am
I served my country in the war by making movies where I pretend to be a soldier
August 25, 2025 @ 11:24 am
I used to work with an older gentleman who said, “I fought the Cold War from a barstool in Germany.”
August 25, 2025 @ 11:31 am
HAHA-hilarious!
August 25, 2025 @ 7:59 am
I’ve been saying for a while now that this whole divide is an identity theft issue. The industry has shifted to a pop country sound and alienated the traditional. I am not mad or upset at any of the pop country, I just don’t care for it. What does upset me is that they have hijacked the term. Industry heads have always wanted country to be pop or crossover. Its all about dollars to them. The fans know what they like and care about. If they want to make their pop style of country then they should come up with their own title. The country music I grew up with and still enjoy is a very traditional style. It is very much a sound as it is a well written song. I want fiddles and steel in my favorite tunes. Nowadays the country I like is named Americana, Ameripolitan, or even Traditional all the while “country” is reserved for the industry pop sounds. Give us back the term country and go get your own name for your style of music.
August 25, 2025 @ 12:23 pm
Gotta agree……I haven’t listen to the radio in a decade…..I listen to my satellite radio, where I can pick my music instead of having to listen to this new stuff that they play on country radio today……..country music has become a victim of identity theft, and that’s a shame…
August 25, 2025 @ 8:05 am
Was this the same interview where he complained (41 years after the fact) that Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” isn’t a patriotic song? The guy has some weird takes.
August 25, 2025 @ 8:33 am
Hey smarter than many if he finally noticed the blatant lyrics of the song
August 25, 2025 @ 8:47 am
That entire Springsteen album is great. (although some could argue skipping past Glory Days) The use of the word Patriotism morphed into Propaganda. Anytime the Mythos is challenged you will have retards who can’t see their dick without the use of a mirror complaining about patriotism. I can’t think of anything more true to the spirit of the Founding Fathers than blatantly speaking the truth. The Vietnam War was a terrible mistake. That song was an honest look at the American experience.
August 25, 2025 @ 9:36 am
I agree with this. Just I’m glad Aaron Lewis notices the song is antithetical to his politics when many people have bizarrely not noticed this
August 25, 2025 @ 2:39 pm
I’ve been listening to the entire Springsteen discography in order recently, trying to understand who influenced what in that kind of songwriting he was doing in the 70’s. Goddamn. So many good songs.
August 25, 2025 @ 10:11 am
Didn’t want to bring this up in the article because it really has nothing to do with country music. But my understanding of Aaron Lewis’s take is that Bruce Springsteen surreptitiously made “Born in the USA” with a big, anthemic chorus to lure in patriotic people who then would inadvertently be peddling the more undermining verses whenever the song was played. This really is a laughable philosophy crafted by someone who never took the time to really understand the song until decades after it was released.
I think Aaron Lewis makes good country music, and he can be a really great songwriter. This guy’s political/cultural takes never go more than skin deep. It becomes apparent when you watch the Tucker Carlson interview that he doesn’t have a deep, philosophical, or even ideological take on politics. It’s more just “other side bad” talking points like “it’s all California’s fault.” It’s really unfortunate, because the guy has released some very thoughtful, well-written songs.
August 25, 2025 @ 10:35 am
Born in the USA has been used in political campaigns since Reagan and there are people who still don’t understand the context.
August 25, 2025 @ 8:19 am
just another guy who is upset his garbage opinions are ruining his marketability. another victim of the male loneliness epidemic.
August 25, 2025 @ 8:30 am
Feel bad for anyone so immersed in cultures wars they feel the need to be a fan of this guy
August 25, 2025 @ 2:57 pm
It’s the Conservative version of liberals who glom onto artists for LBGT stuff.
August 25, 2025 @ 8:34 am
“It’s been infiltrated by California, just like everything else.”
If only that were true. A little inspiration from Bakersfield or even the country rock scene of the ’60s and ’70s would be a vast improvement over anything mainstream country these days (or Aaron Lewis). Ironically, he seems to hold Merle Haggard in high regard, at least if we’re to believe that he’s actually heard a Mere song and didn’t merely pull the name from a Wikipedia article on country music.
August 25, 2025 @ 8:38 am
LOL. I guess Jesse Daniel is the problem. Merle Haggard is the problem. Emily Nenni is the problem. Buck Owens is the problem. Dwight Yoakam is the problem. CAKE is the problem. CCR is the problem. Jon Pardi is the problem (well, maybe……?). Wynn Stewart is the problem.
Maybe Lee Greenwood is the problem he speaks of, that guy is kind of a problem. Staind is definitely a problem if you enjoy music.
What a fucking doofus.
August 25, 2025 @ 9:21 am
Flying Burrito Bros, the Byrds, Tom Petty (after leaving FL), the Eagles, heck the Girl with Far Away Eyes. CA has given us nothing good, only wokeness, according to so many. So tired of CA being the source of everyone’s discontent, look in the mirror and shape up, people.
August 25, 2025 @ 9:57 am
Pretty telling how you had to cite decade-ago contributions.
August 25, 2025 @ 10:13 am
There’s great country music coming out of California right now. Kimmi Bitter, Whitey Morgan, Jesse Daniel is from California and just moved back. Ben Haggard. That’s just a start.
August 25, 2025 @ 2:03 pm
Ben Haggard finally released an album?
None of those excellent singers are nationally known unlike Gold Plated Door’s examples. Tell folks they are country singers and people would guess they are from the South.
August 25, 2025 @ 2:18 pm
Well, that’s kind of the point I made in the article. Who is the big national name that is destroying country music from California? The only really decently-sized name is Jon Pardi, and he’s on the 2nd or 3rd tier these days. He opened the door for Zach Top and other neotraditionalists, and was a neotraditionalst before neotraditionalists were cool. He went off the rails with his last album (thanks Jay Joyce), but you could hardly says he’s the problem in country.
It’s not that I don’t understand what Aaron Lewis was alluding to. It’s that it’s an incredibly lazy take, and in a way that creates unnecessary collateral damage. One of the great things about these long form online conversations is you can go into detail about stuff. Lewis did that to some extent. But that line didn’t do him any favors.
August 25, 2025 @ 3:13 pm
Well, back when those artists had their run, Cali was mostly a republican state.
Reagan etc…
Maybe that’s why.
August 25, 2025 @ 8:39 am
If Lewis was using “California” as a metaphor I could understand his point, but I don’t think he’s that smart. Country music as an industry lost it’s connection to the common working man and it’s storytelling nature of detailing every decade of life of the common man. The industry has spent almost 20 years pumping out songs aimed directly at people perptually stuck in adolesence and college party years. Major country starts are just actors now, all getting plastic surgery and indirectly advertising products – like nameless identity-less aspiring actors willing to do whatever it takes to “make it.” It’s harder and harder for artists to survive, much like California taxing it’s people out of 60 – 70% of their income. I don’t even like Aaron Lewis so idk why I’m trying to explain his point. He made sad-sack of shit music in the 2000’s like a Post Y2K Jelly Roll.
August 25, 2025 @ 10:15 am
Yes, seeing a lot of folks saying, “It’s a metaphor.” But that’s the problem. It let’s all the folks from the South operating country music’s major labels off the hook, while stereotyping an entire state that has contributed, and does contribute greatly to country music. As someone who’s been stereotyped as a “Yankee,” he should know better.
August 25, 2025 @ 8:52 am
I want to say I particularly enjoy the California brand of country music. The sound is something different to love that kind of regional distinctiveness can still survive.
August 25, 2025 @ 9:49 am
So now some bitter elderly grunge crud with neck tattoos from Vermont defines country?
Kvetch, Kvetch, Kvetch
You’d think someone made off with his maple syrup bucket.
Tucker Carlson does America no favors giving creeps like this a microphone.
August 25, 2025 @ 9:52 am
“California’s still on fire
And it don’t rain no more in Texas”
August 25, 2025 @ 3:15 pm
So, nothing has really changed in our lifetime and then some.
August 25, 2025 @ 9:55 am
Yeah, he complained that Springsteen ‘duped us all with one of the most anti-American songs and called it Born in the USA.’ Derided him for not reflecting blue collar values and forgetting where he came from.
I think it explains the divide in the country music audience and how it extends to some performers in the country music industry. Who is listening to Born in the USA and not getting the point? Do we think John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Guy Clark, etc. listened to that and failed to understand it?
Do we think that Townes or Willie or Merle would listen to a song that tells the story of how so many veterans got completely abandoned by society and consider it anti-American?
There’s a divide between the people that take songwriting and consumption seriously and those that don’t. I don’t mean in a pretentious way – Glory Days is about as ‘blue collar’ and down to earth as a song can get. But it takes its subject and characters seriously in considering the path of their lives and how they interact with the world and one another. Which is also what you get out of people like Isbell and Felker.
Springsteen has written about blue collar folks, veterans, immigrants, the impoverished, criminals, etc. better than just about anyone for over a half century. Aaron Lewis writes music like he takes ‘what are country songs about’ prompts from chatgpt.
August 25, 2025 @ 2:07 pm
Springsteen has exploited blue collar folks, veterans, immigrants, the impoverished, criminals, etc. better than just about anyone for over a half century.
He is a limousine liberal living in a mansion and charging $500 for a ticket.
He suffers from the same disease that modern country singers do; pretending to be a common man while hawking Yeti coolers and $300 tickets.
August 25, 2025 @ 3:16 pm
And-by his own admissision-he says that he never had a day job.
August 25, 2025 @ 3:21 pm
Steve Earle called his bluff back in ’86 and gave us the best album Springsteen never made.
And unlike Springsteen’s poseur outings, Earle’s came from the earth and the soul of the downthrodden heartland.
The E-Street band is the only thing that is great about Springsteen
August 25, 2025 @ 9:56 am
Maybe Aaron Lewis should have said “Los Angeles” or even “L.A./Hollywood/San Fran.” rather than “California,” to make his point. I don’t think he was talking about Bakersfield, Fresno and the inland mountains, or Buck, Merle, or Cal-Mex music, etc.”
August 25, 2025 @ 9:58 am
Most people, when they think of Commiefornia, think of LA/Hollywood/San Francisco. The rest of the state is underappreciated because of the city crazies.
August 25, 2025 @ 1:25 pm
“commiefornia”
guys, don’t let anyone tell you trump supporters don’t have a good sense of humor.
August 25, 2025 @ 2:05 pm
Yawn.
I know you suffer from male loneliness but go invent an AI friend to amuse you.
August 25, 2025 @ 2:20 pm
idk man. i’m not the one that’s divorced and doesn’t get to see his kids.
August 25, 2025 @ 2:22 pm
Not doing these back and forths here guys. Move on.
August 25, 2025 @ 12:09 pm
And La is where the majority of the really good traditionalist country is coming from in California right now. People have been named a few bands in the comments already but they’re only scratching the surface. The quality of the independent country music coming out of there is insane right now
August 25, 2025 @ 10:06 am
If he didn’t give further context, this was a really stupid comment on his part. If what he means by “California” is that there’s some sort of avenue to stardom that people from all walks pursue to the point that the idea of what is or isn’t country is moot, I think I can see that perspective making some sense. After all, what is being an influencer or music streamer other than the new “going to California” in order to pursue a dream in some artform?
Where is the avenue for those with authentic country experiences and lives to pursue?
That being said, the worst thing social media has done for country music is dilute the talent pool with people who haven’t paid their dues and/or can’t even do it in a live setting. There’s certainly been some good music and musicians to arise from these mediums.
August 25, 2025 @ 12:54 pm
What’s not represented clearly in the article is the conversation was spun off from discussions about how Lewis got in to the recording industry via flip records in California, and the band then recorded there. That is his lens for the industry when he came in to it. He is just stating that the industry players in country have taken on the same practices he experienced in California. It’s not complicated if you actually listen to the first 30 minutes. Generally love Trigger’s writing but this article was unnecessary. All of the comments that Lewis made that seem like they are from 2010 are also because they were discussing when he went in to country and how that transpired (and yes, his contracts probably still reflect the practices of that time period). In short, the comment wasn’t remotely political or having anything to do with country from California, just the industry practices which he first encountered there. In fact, they mentioned Bakersfield right afterward! Trigger is right that it being spread without context is a problem but love him or hate him, Lewis isn’t the problem there. In context it was extremely ’clear the entire conversation was about “the machine” where he specifically mentioned companies merging etc and unrelated to the state itself and certainly California music is beyond me. It didn’t even occur to me until I pulled this up during lunch and I had just listened to the first half and then lost interest.
Trust me, there is plenty of political talk after the first 30 minutes that 50% of the country can vehemently disagree with while the other half cheers if that is we are here for. Otherwise the first 30 minutes were a good introduction to how he got in to the industry, switched to country, and the general problems with it today for people who don’t read this site everyday. I get why it’s seems slightly off in the details for those of that do, but there wasn’t really a reason to even write an article on it imo. It’s nitpicking
August 25, 2025 @ 10:14 am
Aaron has one of the worst cases of victim mentality I can think of. Right up there with the greats. At one point he was one of the most popular artists in all of music. He had songs playing on every station in my area. Alt rock, classic rock, country, pop…. Between the legacy staind stuff, his solo work and country songs he was everywhere. I saw him in Springfield mass about a decade ago. He whined and bitched the entire show about how everyone only came to hear him play “It’s been a while” and even faked playing it twice. Then he went on a 10 minute diatribe about how when he was coming up playing small venues and bars that he played “it’s been a while” in between covers so people could goto the bathroom. It’s like..you became an international super star with that song. How much more vindication do you need?
The patriotism stuff drives me bonkers as well. Like I was actually fighting in a war while you were gallivanted around doing drugs and playing song. So no, You’re not the “only one”. Ive never actually met him, but he seems like a world class Asshole to me.
August 25, 2025 @ 10:15 am
From what I know of Lewis and from what’s reported in this article I’d be inclined to interpret his assertion that country music has “been infiltrated by California” as either relating to the process of Californication (the cultural, political and (im)moral influence of California, especially through Hollywood productions) or refering to California as a symbolic stand in for Wokery/Cultural Marxism/Liberalism/Gay Race Communism.
August 25, 2025 @ 10:15 am
He has made ‘dumb’ comments about Springsteen and his comments on country music seem almost as ‘dumb’. Maybe he has motivation for making such ‘dumb’ comments?
August 25, 2025 @ 10:23 am
I’m fairly certain he just using “California” as a metaphor. he’s not saying the state of California is literally killing country music, he’s just saying that the politically progressive types that are so prominent in California are what’s killing country music.
August 25, 2025 @ 10:39 am
Which is also dumb. The problem with Jason Andreas, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia line, Sam hunt, Morgan wallen, jelly roll, snap beats, laundry list lyrics, pay to play on radio, backing tracks in concert, horse trading at award shows, AI, faceless algorithms controlling what gets popular, and death of any critical media isn’t political progressivism
August 25, 2025 @ 11:26 am
I think he’s simply suggesting that The decline of authentic country music isn’t just happening by accident — it looks and feels like a coordinated cultural shift pushed by activist forces within the music industry. Artists like Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt, Morgan Wallen, and Jelly Roll have been elevated not because they represent the roots of country, but because they embody a watered-down, pop-infused version of it that breaks ties with its cultural foundations.
The creative tools and industry practices driving this shift are just as telling: snap beats replacing real drumming, cookie-cutter “laundry list” lyrics that recycle the same shallow tropes, and a pay-to-play radio system that rewards conformity over authenticity. Live concerts have even been hollowed out, with backing tracks standing in for the grit of real performance.
Behind the scenes, horse trading at award shows ensures that industry insiders, not the fans, decide who gets recognition. At the same time, faceless algorithms and AI models now dictate which songs surface to the top — stripping away regional character, individuality, and soul. Meanwhile, the death of critical media coverage means no one in the mainstream is left to call out the homogenization of the genre.
Put together, it paints a clear picture: the activist left understands that to weaken America’s cultural backbone, you must first sever its music from its roots. By transforming country into something unrecognizable — pop gloss wearing a cowboy hat — they are dismantling an institution that once carried tradition, identity, and working-class truth.
August 25, 2025 @ 11:44 am
Idk I think that stuff is mostly record labels trying to make as much money as possible by appealing to as wide an audience as possible. This is of course confounded by the fact that many of the garbage pop country acts are much less popular than some actual country artists. But the shitty watering down of good stuff to chase the extra dollar is happening everywhere as every business chases unsustainable growth. These trends aren’t isolated to country music and it requires no conspiracy except that well is running dry. There’s only so much copper left to tear out of the walls. As we continue to all be squeezed they work even harder to get what they can get. I don’t think that’s a conspiracy to destroy American culture. It’s just capitalism.
August 25, 2025 @ 2:51 pm
It is capitalism. But it’s way more convenient for conservatives to look to the left (ie California et. al) and blame them for the shitification of country music. “It can’t be my side making my music bad/destroying my culture for a buck, it must be the other guy who hates me for reasons”. All the while failing to recognize that you shouldn’t be looking to the left or the right as to why things aren’t good. You need to look up.
August 25, 2025 @ 10:46 am
Yeah seems that way to me too. And the song Californication comes straight to mind. Not everything mentioned in that song only comes from California either. Not a defender of this guy by any means but not sure I’m going to hate on him for this.
August 25, 2025 @ 12:41 pm
There are two things being asserted in this article. The first is that pulling Aaron Lewis’s quote naked from context and posting it on social media is unfair to him. Before and after that quote, he offered important context, just like what happened with Tyler Childers and the “Feathered Indians” issue.
Second, saying “It’s been infiltrated by California” is at least misleading. If Aaron Lewis was in the business of working in nuance, perhaps you could claim he’s trying to use a metaphor. But this is Aaron Lewis, and he works in hot quips. That’s his bread and butter. And if it’s a metaphor, then it’s outdated, just like saying there’s this new thing labels are trying to get artists to sign to called 360 deals. “Californication” is a 25 year old song.
August 25, 2025 @ 1:18 pm
Never expected him to be nuanced, maybe part of the reason I’m not a fan at all. But I don’t think using a metaphor that’s been around (for probably more than 25 years) is hardly as concerning to me as what kross is saying in his second comment. I think you MOSTLY do a good job of calling that out yourself.
August 25, 2025 @ 10:26 am
I’m about 10 minutes into this interview and I want to throw my laptop through the wall.
He just said that “country music is Americana…it’s the genre that we as the country of America are certainly responsible for. It came from here. Where rock had a lot of…English…influence. All those English bands from the 60s….”
WHERE’D ROCK N ROLL MUSIC START YOU FUCKING PINECONE!?!?!
August 25, 2025 @ 10:29 am
Yeah, that was one of the many things that deserved to be scrutinized from the interview. Anyone who knows anything about country music knows about its Scots/Irish roots in Appalachia. Not saying that it isn’t a distinctly American art form, because it is. But so is rock and roll. All those early British bands were influenced by American blues.
The underlying theme of the interview was just bleeding the nuance out of the conversation and leaning into hot takes.
August 25, 2025 @ 10:31 am
Something that seems to often get overlooked in these conversations is why country music labels/producers/artists, etc. have always tried to break into the pop realm in the first place. It’s a business and you’re not gonna make much money selling exclusively to rural audiences when only 20% of the population lives in those rural areas. Throughout human history artists have always been drawn to urban areas to find audiences, no matter the genre. Granted in what many, myself included, consider the golden age of country a lot more people lived rurally. Something like 35% but declining in the 60’s, and that’s when Countrypolitan was created as an outreach to suburban and city folks, who bought a lot of those records, which funded those studios, session players and infrastructure that was needed to bring country music to the masses. For better or worse it’s a business, not a culture. All this handwringing over who’s authentic, who’s real or fake country or who’s to blame for the modern music scene is all for nothing if the finger isn’t pointed directly at the industry itself. Lastly id love to see the death of the compartmentalization of rural and urban people. If you think California is the problem with modern country, you’ve never been to California. If you think all rural people are characters from some right-wing fantasy camp you’ve never spent any real time within’ those communities. And if you think all city people are liberal snowflake vegans you’ve never spent any significant time in American cities. I grew up on a small family farm in Southwest Missouri, and have lived in and travelled through cities all over the world since leaving the farm 30 years ago. I’m a socially conscious, shit kicker who’s as comfortable drinking beer in a shop full of good ole boys as I am twirling a drag-queen on a dance floor. The whole damn deal is here for us all to enjoy and we spend our time picking each other apart.
August 25, 2025 @ 2:48 pm
Damn I want to hear a song based on your last couple of sentences there
August 25, 2025 @ 11:02 am
Yeah, I had to laugh, and he did walk back the Spotify royalty thing a bit, as I just ran the number 1 Billion multiplied by an off the top of my head royalty rate of .001 per spin, and that’s a million bucks direct deposited in his account over time, and even HE would notice that. I know what he was actually saying, and most everyone in the world would agree the streaming services are ripping off artists, and yes, the ones we on here know and love suffer from it as well, even more so than Aaron that’s for sure.
August 25, 2025 @ 11:58 am
He went on and on about a crowd that wouldn’t be quiet when he attempted to sing with just his guitar. Acoustic version at the end of his show. He ended up walking off stage. This was HIS crowd. They were there to see him. Not like it was a festival crowd. Those are his fans he’s bitching about
August 25, 2025 @ 12:18 pm
I do not agree with him, but one thing for sure is a conservative that speaks his mind is like red meat to a wolf here. Music is becoming more of an afterthought on this site.
August 25, 2025 @ 2:21 pm
Don’t think that I don’t recognize that there have been a lot of culture war/political issues to address lately, and I even avoided the whole Cracker Barrel discussion. I don’t pick the news cycle, I just react to it. Aaron Lewis does a massive interview on a major podcast and says some important and incendiary stuff, I’m going to comment. I’m hoping stuff mellows out in the coming days and weeks.
August 25, 2025 @ 1:00 pm
Reality Check: All the pop country, Wallen, Zach Bryan, etc are so big because the weak ass country they make is popular with the masses. Especially the millenials. They don’t really care about the history of country music, the classics, the stories. They wanna party and dance. That’s it. Aaron Lewis is a niche artist and he doesn’t like the fact that he has aged out of popular music. Sour grapes.
I love a good music discussion. Support your favorite artists but all this political bullshit is getting out of control. If you pick a record to listen to because you agree witih their politics you are missing out on so much great music. Get a life folks, have a beer, listen to some good music. Everyone needs to lighten up.
August 25, 2025 @ 2:17 pm
Watch the interview again. He still is with Staind and plays that rock style with that project. But he didn’t come across as bitter he wasn’t a huge star at all. He was accepting and grateful and even said this verbatim. He isn’t Morgan or Zach big but I don’t think that’s his MO. He plays for a dedicated fanbase, packs small venues (said he played 170 shows last year), and is able to support himself while making art, and giving his opinion on social issues. Doesn’t sound bitter to me, sounds like a dream career. And whining about not getting paid? Who in country music or in music and art in general or all of society really doesn’t complain about this?
August 25, 2025 @ 1:43 pm
They’re such whiny little bitches.
August 25, 2025 @ 2:10 pm
While I disagree with Aaron’s singling out Morgan and radio country as a whole the larger point made is correct. With country being so popular right now a lot of artists coming to us seem to think they can play dress up and join us and that we won’t find it distasteful. Post Malone is an example of someone outside the genre joining but his love of the genre is self evident. He cares, whether or not you like his music. Beyonce was an example of joining us but not having an interest in anything related to us other than branding Beyonce on her album.
Aaron’s overall point about California I think is less about a sound or even a place but rather what California represents to him. It’s obviously political, you aren’t going to get Aaron’s message in Los Angeles country music boardroom meetings. But you also aren’t going to get his sound either. He plays with a band, with an acoustic guitar, playing as close to traditional sounding country as one could get these days (no steel though)
I thought maybe the most thought provoking part of the interview was how he seemed happy he became overtly country and political because he no longer is forced to play the game of corporate machinations as he did in Staind, he’s very successful, can sell out venues, and makes good money all while being able to say things on stage and on record that wouldn’t fly even in Nashville. He seemed grateful for this. No record label in Nashville would ever allow their artist to appear on Tucker. He’s able to deal with it all, roll with it. And I appreciate this.
August 25, 2025 @ 3:39 pm
Aaron Lewis is a Trumpster. ‘Nuf sed.