Country music has seen an increase in listeners and popularity over the past few years, largely in part to mega stars such as Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Ella Langley, and Chris Stapleton, among others. These artists have taken the reins from artists like Dolly Parton, the king of country, George Strait, as well as the late great Toby Keith.
Given how politics has been viewed over the past two decades, it seems like everybody's political views need to be out in the open and always under the microscope.
Combs is gearing up for his highly anticipated album release on March 20th, as well as kicking off his "My Kinda Saturday Night" tour, which starts in Las Vegas on March 21st. He has been doing a media tour to promote the album.
Super pumped to share the 22 song track list for my new album The Way I Am that will be out next month.
— Luke Combs 🎤 (@lukecombs) February 11, 2026
Track 19 “Be By You” releases this Friday, February 13.
Pre-save now on @spotify. pic.twitter.com/2tG1h1Alpo
When he appeared on the New York Times podcast, he was asked about his political views. Combs told the New York Times, in part:
One, I've never said what I am. ... I would consider myself heavily moderate in everything, and I think, so, that's to the point where, like, I'm not liberal enough for liberals and I'm not conservative enough for conservatives, right, ya know? And I kind of like it that way. Also kind of like people not really knowing what I have going on politically. Like why do we all care what everybody else is? Like what does it signify? I have friends that are liberal. I have tons of friends that are conservative. You know, it's like I have friends all across the board.
Here is the part of the interview where the talk about politics came up:
I personally listen to country music a lot, and sometimes people tell me that's all I listen to, and I don't realize it because it's good music. Some of the people I listen to are conservative, some are liberal, and some I don't know what their political beliefs are. But I like their music, that's why I listen to it.
I have seen in Combs' social media comment sections that one person is not going to listen to him because he's liberal, and another one says they're not going to listen to him because he's conservative. That is what is wrong with today's society. Especially if you say you support President Trump to a person who doesn't, they instantly sour. But most of these commenters don't even know his political stance because he has never discussed it in the past. If somebody likes Luke Combs' songs but then stops listening to them because of their assumption of political stance, again, that is what is wrong in today's society.
For the most part, country artists don't publicize their political beliefs, but there are some who have. George Strait has not publicized where he stands politically, whereas the late Toby Keith was a registered Democrat until 2008, and then he registered as an independent. He performed at former President Obama's 2009 Nobel Peace Prize celebration, but he then received criticism from Democrats because he decided to honor his country and perform at Trump's 2017 inauguration. But back then, most country listeners still loved his songs. Keith was always a patriot and a big supporter of our military, and that didn't change, no matter who the president was.
Nowadays, politics has become too polarizing, and cancel culture is still alive and well, unfortunately. If Luke Combs came out and said he wasn't heavily moderate and was instead a conservative, some liberals would stop listening to his songs solely based on that, and the same is true vice versa.
Country music has changed a lot over the years; some of the big names like Morgan Wallen have moved closer to pop than country, while others like Zach Top have continued to keep the traditional country line alive. But one thing that has remained fairly consistent is that most country artists don't discuss their political views. Yet most of them always show love and support for our country and military. That is what should matter most.
