On Saturday, September 27th, Zach Bryan played the largest ticketed event in American history. 112,408 people packed into Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor to witness Zach Bryan perform at the “Big House,” with John Mayer, Ryan Bingham and the Texas Gentlemen, and Joshua Slone supporting. Merchandise sales alone topped $5 million according to organizers, making it also the biggest merchandise sales event in history.
To break the record, Zach Bryan had to best George Strait who drew 110,905 people to the Home of Texas A&M Aggies, Kyle Field in Texas in 2024. George Strait was also 3rd (and now 4th) on the top of the list with a crowd of 104,793 that he drew for an event in New Jersey in 2024. The Grateful Dead’s concert at New Jersey’s Raceway Park in 1977 with 107,019 also on the list of top ticketed events.
What this all illustrates is the incredible popularity of country and country-adjacent artists currently, especially when it comes to live performances. And it’s hard to overlook how there is a football tie-in, since these records are being set in football stadiums, with Zach Bryan appearing in a Michigan University football jersey during Saturday’s show. Zach regularly trolls the internet with his unabashed Philadelphia Eagles fandom.
The day after Zach Bryan’s record-setting show in a football stadium, the NFL announced that for the 32nd year in a row, country music will not be featured during the halftime performance of the Super Bowl—arguably the biggest live entertainment event each year. Instead it will be the “King of Latin Trap” Bad Bunny taking the field.
You have to go all the way back to 1994 when Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, and The Judds performed to find the last and really only time country music was featured during the Super Bowl halftime. There hasn’t even been a country artist featured as a guest in over 20 years. For the record, Shania Twain appeared briefly with No Doubt in 2003, and Doug Kershaw also made a quick appearance in 1990 when the Super Bowl was in his native state of Louisiana.
Since the Super Bowl halftime show became a big deal in 1991 with New Kids on the Block taking the field, country music has really only been featured predominantly once. When you consider that it’s one of America’s popular genres—and arguably the most popular genre currently—this feels like a travesty.
There is a huge barrier standing between a country artist playing the Super Bowl halftime, and it’s not popularity or talent. The NFL partnered with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation in 2019 as their official “Live Music Entertainment Strategists.” This has put country music on the sidelines permanently like a 3rd string quarterback, and relegated it to pregame performances.
Making the Super Bowl halftime show exclusively the domain of hip-hop seems like a disservice to every other genre. At this point, the question isn’t whether a hip-hop performer will be chosen, but which one.
Country music is packing out football stadiums, and in record numbers. But for yet another year, it remains on the sidelines when it comes to the Super Bowl.
