After having lived in New York for the majority of my life, I had never really listened to country music much at all. Many of my peers preferred techno, rap or pop, so country was never really on my radar. But that all changed after coming to college.
After arriving at Fairfield University last year, I was in a bit of a culture shock. Although my hometown, Chappaqua, was only located about an hour away from Fairfield, it was odd how different New England was from New York. All of my friends suddenly listened to Luke Bryan and Kenny Chesney, which I was definitely not used to. A genre of music that I’d always thought I’d disliked was suddenly all my peers talked about.
My friends would be shocked when I said I’d never listened to country. I gave into peer pressure by creating a Spotify account. Hesitantly, I signed in and began to listen to country, just dipping my toes into the music that I’d always been so against listening to. I started with a fan favorite, Luke Bryan, but wasn’t wowed by him. Not having been used to country, I found it funny when he would discuss things like tractors, blue jeans and beer. I wanted to find an artist more similar to what I was used to, and with a bit of digging, I found out about Sam Hunt.
After hearing “Leave The Night On” on the radio one day, I knew I needed to listen to Sam Hunt more. I was hooked. With the song’s catchy beat, happy vibe and easy-to-follow lyrics, I knew it would become my song for the summer.
Even though "Montevallo" was released in 2014, Sam Hunt mostly ended up on the charts this past year. I'm a girl who loves all types of music, so I really liked that Sam Hunt is a happy medium between pop and country. He isn't as extreme as Luke Bryan, nor as overplayed as the music you would normally hear on the radio.
If you're anything like I am, as in you are hesitant to listen to country, or are just looking for a good album to play on full blast in your car with the windows down, search no farther than Sam Hunt’s “Montevallo.”
P.S. If you asked me what my favorite song was off the album, I definitely wouldn’t be able to tell you. That’s right, they’re all that good. You’re welcome.
