Country Summer Jams
We’ll be blasting these summery country hits all season long.
What is summer if not the perfect excuse to take a balmy evening drive, windows down, and bathe in the warmth of some good country tunes?
From outdoor festivals to backyard campfires, summertime fertilizes the joy that grows so much country music. From John Hartford’s classic “Long Hot Summer Days” to modern anthems like “21 Summer” by the Brothers Osborne, the warmest season proves to be a timeless inspiration, across generations. As a celebration of this idyllic – and sweltering – time of year, we’ve curated a playlist just in time for all your summer roadtrips.
This list features some of our favorite country summer jams, brimming with visions of beach trips, sunshine, fishing, and maybe a drink or two.
(Editor’s Note: Find the full 14 hour, 240+ song Country Summer Jams playlist below.)
Omitting the “s” and replacing it with a full backing band, in 2010 the Turnpike Troubadours alchemized the John Hartford original, “Long Hot Summer Days.”
Hartford’s initial 1976 version is a sparse recording featuring his voice, fiddle, and steady footstomp keeping tempo. The unflashy arrangement underscores the narrative Hartford unfolds as he sings the tale of a blue collar riverboat worker whose lover awaits him at home – content familiar to Hartford, whose fascination with riverboats and riverboat culture began at the age of ten.
The Turnpike Troubadour iteration breathes new life into the classic tune; they pay homage to the original with a solo fiddle intro, then layer drums, bass, electric guitar, and harmonica to create a groovy new flavor full of twang.
Ah, summer’s ultimate muse – the sea! With an uncommon sultry, twangy devotion, Sierra Ferrell is a siren who sets listeners afloat into the ethereal. This ode to the waves almost reads as a hypnotic prayer with its yearning lyrics and dreamy theremin. Be warned: if you listen while driving, you may just end up seaside without any memory of how you arrived.
With their enlivening three-part harmonies and upbeat melodies, the Chicks are the epitome of summer country. “Ready to Run” is just one of many of their tunes that will get you up and grooving! Especially in the sunny months.
As they sing during the upbeat chorus, it’s a song of levity and liberation – the opening scene to the music video depicts the three singers, clad in full bridal attire, fleeing their grooms at the altar as they shirk responsibilities and cry, “All I wanna do is have some fun! What’s all this talk about love?”
Upon its release in 1999, it soared to number two on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart. With its Celtic flute, fiddle intro, and catchy tagline, “Ready to Run'' remains iconic through the decades.
In this joyous tune, Dolly Parton gives us the secret ingredient to every successful summer playlist – a good ol’ sing along. Off her 1977 album New Harvest… First Gathering, “Applejack” celebrates Dolly’s musical and rural roots by paying homage to two of her inspirations growing up.
Raised in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, much of Dolly’s early exposure to music came from the Appalachian folk musicians in her community. According to her book, Songteller (2020), Dolly based the character “Applejack” upon two men she knew in real life – her great uncle and banjo teacher, Phillip Owens, and a neighbor colloquially referred to as “Sawdust.”
Of Sawdust she writes, “He had a bunch of old hunting dogs, and he stunk like crazy, but I would sneak off to his place. Mama said, 'Don't go up there.' But I was so intrigued, because I'd heard him playing the banjo and just loved how he played. I thought, 'Well, I'll just hold my nose and go.'”
Complete with catchy hand-clapping, a sing along chorus, and ripping fiddle fills, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” became an instant classic when it was released in April. It topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, taking the coveted position from Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” – the first time in history that two Black artists have held the number one slot back to back. You’ll be hearing this song all summer anyway, so of course we had to include it here.
This tune sums summer up perfectly for those of us who have to strike that perfect balance between maintaining general life responsibilities while still enjoying the best of festival season.
Performed/recorded by Denver and written by John Martin Sommers – a multi-instrumentalist in Denver's backup band – this tune is all about a man living his best country life, finding passion and joy in his fiddle while still maintaining love for all the other duties he must fulfill. The song begins immersively, with Denver encouraging his audience to clap the rhythm while he sings.
Once the full band sets in after the first chorus, it’s a total hootenanny! The song even incorporates a fiddle solo alluding to the classic fiddle tune, “Sally Goodin.” Denver sings,
I'd play Sally Goodin all day if I could
But the Lord and my wife wouldn't take it very good
So I fiddle when I can and I work when I should
Thank God I'm a country boy!
This '90s classic will have you reminiscing your heart out. A ballad that pulses with wistfulness and reflection, Carter tells the story of the teenaged summer fling she shared with her grandfather’s farmhand. As she told Garden & Gun back in 2021, “It’s my life story. It was such a swan dive in being willing to speak my truth.” Sugary first sips of alcohol and summertime bliss swirl in the story Carter weaves, stirring up plenty of nostalgia.
2021 marked the song’s 25 year anniversary. In celebration, a pack of country giants got together and re-recorded the track for Did I Shave My Legs for This? 25th Anniversary Edition. Contributors to this star-studded version include Martina McBride, Lauren Alaina, Ashley McBryde, Kylie Morgan, and Vince Gill.
What’s summer without a little fishin’? In their third iteration of the Will the Circle Be Unbroken magnum opus, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band sat down with Taj Mahal to record one of his bigger hits, “Fishin’ Blues.”
The tune was originally written over a century ago in 1911 by Chris Smith, was later recorded by Texas bluesman Henry Thomas, and even later was followed by the Lovin’ Spoonful’s cover. Malleable to lyrical whims, by the time Taj Mahal released the song on his solo album, the lyrics were almost entirely changed, though the general melody remained. With many strong contenders to choose from, we included the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band version for its evocation of a joyous riverside jam, complete with a harmonica solo and washboard percussion.
Honorable Mention: “Fishin’ in the Dark,” which you can find on our full playlist below.
Lyle Lovett sure knows how to pose a hypothetical. Though the title might suggest your run-of-the-mill summertime daydream, Lovett’s lyrics take on a note of absurdism as he sings the beautiful, albeit unlikely, chorus:
If I had a boat, I’d go out on the ocean.
If I had a pony, I’d ride him on my boat.
And we could altogether go out on the ocean.
Me up on my pony on my boat.
Is it a song of independence? Childish ideating? Maritime equestrianism? With slightly melancholic fingerpicking to underscore this flowing melody, “If I Had A Boat” gives listeners something to chew on while remaining a steadfast piece of ear candy.
While by no means comprehensive or all-inclusive, hopefully our summer jams playlist will inspire a deep dive into the best seasonal hits country has to offer. Whether you’re in for a long drive, a beach day, or a classic outdoor bash, these songs are sure to help you soak up everything summer has to offer.
Check out our entire Country Summer Jams playlist:
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