Country music

===United Kingdom===
Country music is popular in the United Kingdom, although somewhat less so than in other English-speaking countries. There are some British country music acts and publications. Although radio stations devoted to country are among the most popular in other Anglophone nations, none of the top ten [[List of most-listened-to radio programs|most-listened-to stations in the UK]] are country stations, and national broadcaster [[BBC Radio]] does not offer a full-time country station ([[BBC Radio 2 Country]], a "pop-up" station, operated four days each year between 2015 and 2017). The BBC does offer a country show on [[BBC Radio 2]] each week hosted by [[Bob Harris (radio)|Bob Harris]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php |publisher=Rajar |title=Quarterly Listening }}</ref>

The most successful British country music act of the 21st century are [[Ward Thomas (band)|Ward Thomas]] and [[The Shires (duo)|the Shires]]. In 2015, the Shires' album ''[[Brave (The Shires album)|Brave]]'', became the first UK country act ever to chart in the Top 10 of the [[UK Albums Chart]] and they became the first UK country act to receive an award from the American [[Country Music Association]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/the-shires-become-first-uk-country-act-to-reach-albums-chart-top-10/061094|title=The Shires become first UK country act to reach Albums Chart Top 10|last=Stassen|first=Murray|date=March 9, 2015|work=[[Music Week]]|access-date=March 9, 2015}}</ref> In 2016, [[Ward Thomas (band)|Ward Thomas]] then became the first UK country act to hit number 1 in the [[UK Albums Chart]] with their album [[Cartwheels (Ward Thomas album)|''Cartwheels'']].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7503506/ward-thomas-uk-charts|title=Ward Thomas Is First Homegrown Country Act to Score No. 1 Album on U.K. Charts|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|last=Sexton|first=Paul|date=September 9, 2016|access-date=May 24, 2023}}</ref>

There is the [[C2C: Country to Country]] festival held every year, and for many years there was a festival at [[Wembley Arena]], which was broadcast on the [[BBC]], the International Festivals of Country Music, promoted by [[Mervyn Conn]], held at the venue between 1969 and 1991. The shows were later taken into Europe, and featured such stars as [[Johnny Cash]], [[Dolly Parton]], [[Tammy Wynette]], [[David Allan Coe]], [[Emmylou Harris]], [[Boxcar Willie]], [[Johnny Russell (singer)|Johnny Russell]] and [[Jerry Lee Lewis]]. A handful of country musicians had even greater success in mainstream British music than they did in the U.S., despite a certain amount of disdain from the music press. Britain's largest music festival [[Glastonbury Festival|Glastonbury]] has featured major US country acts in recent years, such as [[Kenny Rogers]] in 2013 and Dolly Parton in 2014.<ref>{{cite news |title=Why Britain is taking country music to its achy-breaky heart |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/mar/06/why-britain-is-taking-country-music-to-its-achy-breaky-heart |access-date=May 24, 2023 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

[[File:Cowboy humpy 10-31-2008.JPG|thumb|right|[[Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]] had hits with country songs]]

[[File:Bonnie woman1 (cropped).JPG|thumb|left|upright|Before pop stardom, [[Bonnie Tyler]] had a country hit with "[[It's a Heartache]]"]]
From within the UK, few country musicians achieved widespread mainstream success. Many British singers who performed the occasional country songs are of other genres. [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]], by this point near the end of his peak success as a pop singer, had a string of country hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The [[Bee Gees]] had some fleeting success in the genre, with one country hit as artists ("[[Rest Your Love on Me]]") and a major hit as songwriters ("[[Islands in the Stream (song)|Islands in the Stream]]"); [[Barry Gibb]], the band's usual lead singer and last surviving member, acknowledged that country music was a major influence on the band's style.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.countryweekly.com/news/bee-gees-barry-gibb-country-music-always-inspired-us |title=The Bee Gees' Barry Gibb: "Country Music Always Inspired Us" |date=November 4, 2013 |work=Country Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304085038/http://www.countryweekly.com/news/bee-gees-barry-gibb-country-music-always-inspired-us |archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref> Singer [[Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]], while charting only once in the U.S. country top 40 with "[[After the Lovin']]", achieved widespread success on both the U.S. and British pop charts with his covers of Nashville country ballads such as "[[Release Me (1949 song)|Release Me]]", "[[Am I That Easy to Forget]]" and "[[There Goes My Everything (song)|There Goes My Everything]]". Welsh singer [[Bonnie Tyler]] initially started her career making country records, and in 1978 her single "[[It's a Heartache]]" reached number four on the [[UK Singles Chart]]. In 2013, Tyler returned to her roots, blending the country elements of her early work with the rock of her successful material on her album ''[[Rocks and Honey]]'' which featured a duet with [[Vince Gill]]. The songwriting tandem of [[Roger Cook (songwriter)|Roger Cook]] and [[Roger Greenaway]] wrote a number of country hits, in addition to their widespread success in pop songwriting; Cook is notable for being the only Briton to be inducted into the [[Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame]].

A niche country subgenre popular in the [[West Country]] is [[Scrumpy and Western]], which consists mostly of [[novelty song]]s and [[comedy music]] recorded there (its name comes from [[scrumpy]], an alcoholic beverage). A primarily local interest, the largest Scrumpy and Western hit in the UK and Ireland was "[[The Combine Harvester]]", which pioneered the genre and reached number one in both the UK and Ireland; [[Fred Wedlock]] had a number-six hit in 1981 with "The Oldest Swinger in Town". In 1975, comedian [[Billy Connolly]] topped the UK Singles Chart with "[[D.I.V.O.R.C.E.]]", a parody of the [[Tammy Wynette]] song "[[D-I-V-O-R-C-E]]".<ref>{{cite book| first= David| last= Roberts| year= 2006| title= [[British Hit Singles & Albums]]| edition= 19th| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London| isbn= 1-904994-10-5| page= 320}}</ref>
 
[https://britishcountrymusicfestival.com The British Country Music Festival] is an annual three-day festival held in the seaside resort of [[Blackpool]]. It uniquely promotes artists from the United Kingdom and Ireland to celebrate the impact that Celtic and British settlers to America had on the origins of country music. Past headline artists have included [[Amy Wadge]], [[Ward Thomas (band)|Ward Thomas]], [[Tom Odell]], [[Nathan Carter]], [[Lisa McHugh]], [[Catherine McGrath]], [[Wildwood Kin]], The Wandering Hearts and [[Henry Priestman]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Live Review: The British Country Music Festival – maverick-country.com |date=September 13, 2022 |url=https://maverick-country.com/live-review-the-british-country-music-festival/ |access-date=September 19, 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref>