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Country music finds UK listeners - 23rd March 2026

Country music is from the USA. But now, it's very popular in the UK. Europe's biggest country music festival is in London, Belfast and Glasgow.

Noah Rinker: "London, how're we feeling this afternoon?"

More than 45,000 people went to the festival. More people are listening on Spotify too. UK listeners went up 238 percent from 2020. This is the fastest increase in the world.

John Finch: "In the last 12 months, the consumption of country music in the UK has grown by just under 11 percent, which is massive. It's the fastest growing music genre in the UK, and the UK has the fastest growth of anywhere in the world."

Many different groups of people like country music. Each song tells a different story.

William and Cameron are two young fans.

William Martin: "One minute, it's singing about a truck and a beer. One minute, it's singing about a girl that you fell out of love with. A different song for every occasion."

Cameron Fulton: "Country kind of covers all the genres, sometimes. You've got the sad songs - heartbreak songs - and then party in the summer."

Now, pop stars and rappers are making country music. It can tell their stories too. This takes country music to their fans.

Georgia Ku: "Hello everyone! How's everyone doing?"

Georgia Ku's a British country singer. For her, TikTok makes songs more popular.

"Honestly, it's probably TikTok. I think the way someone can put a chorus on there, and thousands and thousands of people can hear 30 seconds of a song and know every word and want to be invested in it."

The UK record industry studies music interests. People's interest in country music is the highest for 100 years. It has a bigger part of the music industry. This increase will probably continue.