Is 2026 The Year of Disco Country?
More than every other year, I mean.
Big news: Mark your calendars for another edition of the Don't Rock The Inbox Book Club!! On Wednesday, April 8th at 7:30 p.m. CT, we'll be hosting a Zoom discussion of Alice Gerrard's memoir, Custom Made Woman: A Life In Traditional Music, for paying subscribers (subscribe here!).
All Don't Rock The Inbox readers can purchase a copy of Gerrard's book for 30% off from the UNC Press website with discount code 01SOCIAL30!! Thank you UNC Press, so excited to dig into this one! [Also, if you happen to be in Knoxville this weekend, Gerrard will be performing for free (!!) as part of an extremely cool-looking festival called "A Celebration of Women in Old-Time Music."]
Things are dire out there — what the hell else is new. In an interview that will be published very soon, a smart singer-songwriter talks about how he doesn't really expect Music Row country to offer any kind of sociopolitical satisfaction, as it (and pop music broadly) is mostly meant as a distraction. Given how hyperaware we all are of the horrors, as long as we are all taking the steps that we can to try to push for better and different in our own ways, I think a little distraction is warranted when it comes to geopolitical crises we have no way of resolving by mainlining them through our screens.
Music Row, after years of Wallen and Jelly-induced drudgery, is finally delivering a little dancefloor frivolity. Namely, Megan Moroney and Ella Langley — it is their week, after all — are bringing twangy grooves to the forefront with their latest singles. Even "Choosin' Texas" isn't *not* a little '70s…half a century later, disco still decidedly does *not* suck.
"Wish I Didn't," Megan Moroney: I could probably eventually get this out of my head, but that would require me to stop listening to it. It's got a count-off!! (As we mentioned in the picks last week, she's leaning in with a bonus track.)
"Be Her," Ella Langley: Moody "Girl Crush" redux but with more dancing!!
Below are a few recent-ish canonical disco country cuts:
"Neon Moon," Kacey Musgraves and Brooks & Dunn: You thought I was gonna say "High Horse"? C'mon. Perhaps the ur-text of contemporary disco country — the original is obviously canon, and yet Kacey very nearly tops it with this perfectly groovy take, transforming it from honky tonk staple to shimmering, club-ready melancholia. Have listened to it hundreds of times, and will listen to it hundreds more.
"23," Sam Hunt: Sam is still trying to get back to this level, understandably.
"Heatin' Up My Summer," Renee Blair: As trivial and fluffy as it gets and yet…absolutely undeniable (at least for the pop freaks like myself and Billboard's Andrew Unterberger).
"Dream, Girl," Hailey Whitters: Humbly — the best Hailey Whitters song.
"Make Me Wanna," Thomas Rhett: T-Rhett has actually been one of the foremost recent advocates of a disco country vibe!
Tell me your favorite disco country songs!! For inspiration, out from behind the paywall, my intensely curated disco country playlist on on Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz and Apple Music.
