Countrygaze is a microgenre blending country music’s twang, storytelling, and folk roots with the distorted, reverb-drenched, atmospheric walls of sound typical of shoegaze and dream pop. It features emotional vocals, rural themes, and a nostalgic yet hazy vibe, popularized by bands like Wednesday. Bootgaze is simply a more playful, slang term for the genre. Dirtgaze: Emphasizes the "earthy spirit," raw textures, and lower-fi, fuzzy elements of the sound. In essence, they are three names for the same or similar musical movement - a fresh take on blending Americana with shoegaze, slowcore, and noise.

Characteristics:

• Sonic Blend: Lush, noisy, and distorted guitars layered over country-style lap steels, driving rhythms, and sometimes lo-fi production.

• Vocal Style: Often ethereal, whispered, or emotive vocals that drift within the instrumentation.

• Thematic Elements: Focuses on rural life, nostalgia, introspection, and regional storytelling.
• Mood: Dreamy, hazy, yet rooted in traditional songwriting.

On this playlist you'll find new countrygaze/ bootgaze - only current songs (at the moment from 2025/ 2026 only) always updated. No filler, all killer. No bots, always hand-curated.

Band on the playlist cover: SHANNY & THE EAST MEN from Nashville, Tennessee.

 Playlist on Spotify

 January 28, 2026: (in alphabetical order, includes recommendations by users in the Reddit Shoegaze group 

• a fungus (Amsterdam, NL) • Track Name: Feeding • Release Date: August 2025
• Amelia's Best Friend (Austin, TX) • Track Name: Punchline • Release Date: December 2025
• Bantom Woods (Austin, TX) • Track Name: Lotteries & Lightning Strikes • Release Date: March 2025
• Blue Deputy (Belfast, UK) • Track Name: Big Fleece • Release Date: July 2025
• Boat Water (Baltimore, MD) • Track Name: Seat of Creation • Release Date: June 2025
• bugcatcher (Rochester, NY) • Track Name: Wondering About • Release Date: November 2025
• Chat Pile feat. Hayden Pedigo (Oklahoma City, OK/ Amarillo, TX) • Track Name: Radioactive Dreams • Release Date: October 2025
• Chatterton (Los Angeles/ Oxnard, CA) • Track Name: Punching Bag • Release Date: September 2025
• Christian Science Reading Room (Chicago, IL) • Track Name: Bloodhound • Release Date: October 2025
• Cloakroom (Michigan City, IN) • Track Name: Bad Larry • Release Date: February 2025
• Color Green (Los Angeles, CA) • Track Name: Ball And Key (Free) • Release Date: August 2025
• Country Restroom (Los Angeles, CA) • Track Name: World Series • Release Date: August 2025
• Creepoid (Philadelphia, PA • Track Name: Gutter Jeweler • Release Date: February 2025
• Deadharrie (Florida) • Track Name: Fumble • Release Date: September 2025
• Dustbunny (Portland, OR) • Track Name: Sheltering • Release Date: January 2026
• Dutch Interior (Los Angeles, CA) • Track Name: Wood Knot • Release Date: March 2025
• Elephant (Rotterdam, NL) • Track Name: Bird's Eye View - Live at Rockfield Studios • Release Date: November 2025
• Euphoria Again with Dogwood Tales (Philadelphia, PA/ Harrisonburg, VA) • Track Name: Destination Heaven • Release Date: November 2025
• Flatwaves (Philadelphia, PA) • Track Name: Flowers Remember • Release Date: July 2025
• Floating Mansions (Hamilton, ON, Cn) • Track Name: Space And Time • Release Date: January 2026
• Gill Weather (Minneapolis, MN) • Track Name: Art A Whirl • Release Date: November 2025
• Green Gardens (Leeds, UK) • Track Name: Death Thought • Release Date: September 2025
• Greet Death (Flint, MI) • Track Name: Country Girl • Release Date: June 2025
• Hana Eid (Nashville, TN) • Track Name: Bet • Release Date: November 2025
• Hater (Malmö, Sweden) • Track Name: Stinger • Release Date: February 2026
• Hey Calamity (Limestone Coast, Aus) • Track Name: Slings and Arrows • Release Date: October 2025
• Hiding Places (Ashville, NC/ Athens/ GA, Brooklyn, NY-based) • Track Name: Waiting • Release Date: February 2026
• Home Is Where (Palm Coast, Florida) • Track Name: everyone won the lotto • Release Date: May 2025
• Honeydrome (Portland, OR) • Track Name: Wired • Release Date: October 2025
• Horse Jumper of Love (Boston, MA) • Track Name: Lip Reader • Release Date: October 2025
• Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter (Seattle, WA) • Track Name: Feather Treasure • Release Date: November 2025
• Jordan Raf with Shallowater (New York/ Houston, TX) • Track Name: From My Wings • Release Date: December 2025
• Junker (Los Angeles/ San Diego, California) • Track Name: It'll All End Up In Tears • Release Date: November 2025
• Katrina (Mexico) • Track Name: Imagination • Release Date: December 2025
• Low Tide (Melbourne, Aus) • Track Name: Melora • Release Date: May 2025
• mercury (Franklin, TN) • Track Name: Heaven • Release Date: November 2025
• Mergo (Perth, Aus) • Track Name: Bat Country • Release Date: April 2025
• Motocrossed (Charlotte, NC) • Track Name: Yearning • Release Date: October 2025
• mourning star & Fox Runs East (Bloomington, IN) • Track Name: Blood Splatter • Release Date: November 2025
• People Person (Manchester, UK) • Track Name: Frances • Release Date: November 2025
• Perfect 50 (Adelaide, Aus) • Track Name: Cross • Release Date: November 2025
• Roseville (Fort Collins, CO) • Track Name: Knife • Release Date: August 2025
• Shallowater (Houston, TX) • Track Name: Highway • Release Date: September 2025
• Shanny & The East Men (Nashville, TN) • Track Name: Silver Hill • Release Date: December 2025
• Smitty (Nashville, TN) • Track Name: Rug • Release Date: November 2025
• Soup Dreams (Philadelphia, PA • Track Name: Wonderdog • Release Date: September 2025
• stagediver (Nashville, TN) • Track Name: Daisy • Release Date: November 2025
• Still Blank (Manchester, UK) • Track Name: Denial • Release Date: November 2025
• Sunblossom (New Jersey) • Track Name: Protector (Folk Tale) • Release Date: November 2025
• Sungaze (Cincinnati, OH) • Track Name: Rice Crispies • Release Date: July 2025
• symmetrical dogs (Perth, Aus) • Track Name: 2000 • Release Date: November 2025
• Teethe (Texas, US) • Track Name: Magic Of The Sale • Release Date: August 2025
• Telexer (Chicago, IL) • Track Name: Sadie • Release Date: November 2025
• The Reds, Pinks and Purples (San Francisco, CA) • Track Name: New Leaf • Release Date: January 2026
• Tiberius (Boston, MA) • Track Name: Sag • Release Date: November 2025
• Tombstone Poetry (Ashville, NC) • Track Name: Bender • Release Date: April 2025
• Toy Berkell (Los Angeles, CA) • Track Name: I Go To Sleep • Release Date: August 2025
• Twine (Melbourne, Aus) • Track Name: Out The Same Way • Release Date: November 2025
• Wednesday (Ashville, NC) • Track Name: Townies • Release Date: September 2025
• Westside Cowboy (Manchester, UK) • Track Name: Don't Throw Rocks • Release Date: January 2026
• Zach Romeo (Ashville, NC) • Track Name: Junk • Release Date: October 2025

If you like the free, hand-curated work, feel free to buy me a beer to keep it all going. (No company, no pitching tool, no bots, no AI. Just me.) Paypal on request. Learn more about me here. Your donation will help me keep this service running and growing.

Countrygaze is a contemporary music microgenre that blends the emotional storytelling and rural imagery of country and Americana with the atmospheric sound design of shoegaze and dream-pop. Musically, it combines twangy or acoustic guitars, pedal steel, and folk-influenced melodies with heavy reverb, delay, layered textures, and softly mixed or hazy vocals. Rather than prioritizing clear narrative delivery, countrygaze emphasizes mood, space, and immersion, creating a sound that feels both grounded and ethereal.

Lyrically, the genre often explores themes of isolation, nostalgia, memory, longing, and life in small towns or open landscapes, delivering an introspective and melancholic tone. Emerging in the late 2010s and early 2020s from indie and alternative country scenes, countrygaze gained traction through online communities and streaming platforms rather than mainstream country music channels. Artists commonly associated with the style—though rarely confined to it—include Wednesday, MJ Lenderman, and select works by Big Thief and Waxahatchee. Overall, countrygaze reflects a broader trend of genre hybridization, reimagining traditional American roots music through modern indie and shoegaze aesthetics.