Whether you’re a fan of country music or not, these 10 tracks are guaranteed to have you and your guests moving (and likely singing along.)
“I’m not too picky about music.” That’s how it started. She was a sweetheart, lovely as can be, and she just wanted me to do my thing and keep people dancing. Then, about six days out from the wedding, during our final chat, she laid it on me: “I really love country. And so do a lot of my guests.” GREAT! The one genre I know the least about. The genre I’ve played less times than any other genre out there. I’ve played more Arabic music than country. I’ve even played more Mexican line dancing music than country music. (Funny enough, the Spanish cover of Billy Ray Cyrus’s “Achy Breaky Heart” is an anthem.) What shall I do??!?
TENNESSEE WHISKEY
Chris Stapleton
This is a slow song. But it’s ferocious. It’s dark. It’s painful. It’s romantic and sexy as all hell. It’s the blues. It’s like the last song of the night at “Roadhouse,” and Dalton is enjoying a cold Coors’ Banquet, being that it’s not quite Miller time, the night ain’t completely over, he still has one eye open on the crowd, because you gotta “expect the unexpected.” But also, THIS song will have folks risking it all to share their beds tonight with that lucky someone. It’s that serious.
MAN! I FEEL LIKE A WOMAN!
Shania Twain
When Shania Twain sets it off with, “Let’s go girls,” it’s like, as one Youtuber puts it, the wedding equivalent of “Avengers Assemble.” People who love country, people who don’t…Things are about to get ugly. (My man Dalton is ready.) The song is so good, so catchy, it somehow even makes the song’s video work, which is no easy feat: The video is like a cross between Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” video and the Goth 1994 classic, “The Crow.” It’s fucking weird. But Shania’s style has always been…questionable. Google the “Rhinestone Depends” look. Oof. Almost as bad as the microbraids.
LOVE STORY
Taylor Swift
Speaking of videos, the beginning of this one had me cracking up. Taylor is on college campus, books in hand, walking through the quad, and lays her eyes on some overgrown Justin Bieber looking dude, sitting against a tree, reading. He slowly looks up, hits her with the Blue Steel, she stops dead in her tracks and hits him back with the…Pink Rhinestone, and it’s glorious and hysterical. But she’s Taylor Swift. She can do whatever she wants. And you can do whatever you want at a wedding, except NOT play this record.
BEER NEVER BROKE MY HEART
Luke Combs
This is one of the songs that woulda tore down the “Roadhouse.” The song that every dude in the room scrambles to the dance floor to take part in. The lyrics are as real as any I’ve ever heard: “I’ve had a largemouth bass bust my line…Trucks break down…Dogs run off…” You just can’t help but really FEEL this song. I’ve never fished for bass, owned a truck or even a dog, but cot dang it…I might as well have, the way I’m rockin’ to this tune. Bout to trade in my Honda CRV for a…for a…Honda Pilot. And not one of those newer space-age lookin’ ones. I want the old model. Looks like it can go through hell/Costco and back.
BOOT SCOOTIN’ BOOGIE
Brooks & Dunn
Remember when gym class turned into line-dancing class for a few weeks a year? What the hell was that? How did that happen? On whose order? Those were weird times. Do they still do that? I mean…I never minded it, but it’s just…weird. I was going to Atlantic City High School back then, and my gym class had maybe…three white people. And none of us ever listened to country. Nor did our parents. Or our parents’ parents. Anyways…This song is perfect for some good ol’ country line dancin’. Get ‘em out there. Get ‘em, cowboy! Grab your partner, dosie-doe!
SAVE A HORSE (RIDE A COWBOY)
Big & Rich
Man, these country boys…They sure do got a way with words. Wouldn’t be surprised if the same person who penned this title penned Luke Combs’ big hit. This is the type of thing you might imagine a dude saying at a bar to a lass and getting slapped across the face for it. (Deservedly so.) But it does bang, it does bring ‘em out, so beat ‘em to the punch and give this record a spin before they even get a chance to request it. You’ll save them the embarrassment of saying the song’s title.
WAGON WHEEL
Darius Rucker
I was always shocked to hear what a total F up Darius Rucker was. The drugs, the parties, the women, legal troubles…You never woulda thunk Hootie had that in him, as wholesome as his music was. “Let Her Cry,” “Hold My Hand,” “I Only Wanna be with You…” These weren’t…threatening songs in any way. His vibe was not party; it was after-church bible study vibes. Neither Hootie nor Blowfish would ever dream of stepping foot in a place like the “Roadhouse.” Or so we all thought. Anyways, he turned his life around, and 13 years ago, released a country-monster cover of a Bob Dylan classic. Good fer ol’ Hootie!
FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES
Garth Brooks
Okay so I lied earlier when I said none of us every listened to country. I had a friend up the block who used to sing the chorus of this song, and he was older than me, and cooler than me, and so, naturally, I started singing it, too. This was the same older friend that gave me my first beer in his garage attic when I was 12—a bottle o’ Busch. And my first ride to my first day of high school, in his 5.0 White Mustang with spoilers, banging “Ice Ice Baby.” See? I was country all the while and didn’t even know it. Anyways…Play this song while people eat or something. It’s got no energy, but it’s a classic.
9 TO 5
Dolly Parton
You better play a Dolly tune. The lil’ mama of country just passed away, and you better make the necessary sacrifice at her alter. And you’re gonna play “I Will Always Love You” (that’s right…Whitney covered it), and even “Two Doors Down,” and DEFINITELY “Islands in the Stream” (that almost made this list; her and Kenny were solid gold together). But this one, out of all of ‘em, has the most energy, and perhaps the furthest reach. Your job is to find that song that brings everyone together, and for country, and for Dolly, this is that song.
A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
Shaboozey
Now’s your chance, DJ. This mega country crossover hit always felt weird playing at the gigs, like, “why are we playing a country tune in the club,” and, “is this what we’re doing now?” Yes. Now. Right now. Country has always been big, but today it’s an absolute monster. Beyonce finessed it, brought it to the city, and every gal on every city block was wearing cowboy hats. You’ve been avoiding it, but that’s to your own detriment. This shit is everywhere. Time to embrace it. Right now, at this wedding where you gotta play country. Right now is the perfect time to play this song. Rock that shit with pride. Watch them wil’ out to it. Let ‘er rip!