Tim McGraw

In order to remain in the upper echelon of country music for 30 years - as Tim McGraw has done - many artists resort to regular reinventions and left-turns in order to keep the attention of their fast-evolving fanbase.

Tim McGraw has retained his status as a country megastar as a result of doing the exact opposite. He’s stayed true to his sound, sticking to his hugely popular neo-traditional country blueprint, with Tim continuing to place the emphasis on classic storytelling, sleek hooks and timeless lyricism.

This is as evident on his 2004 touchstone for all subsequent carpe diem anthems, ‘Live Like You Were Dying’, as it is on his 2020 ode to the importance of cherishing the little things, ‘I Called Mama’.

Since his self-titled 1993 debut record, McGraw has gone on to release 17 full-length studio albums in total, including the sweet, affecting collaborative project with his wife, Faith Hill, in 2017, Rest of Our Life.

Although Tim McGraw has become synonymous with the mainstream country scene, this hasn't stopped him from colouring outside the lines, such as on his chart-topping 2004 duet with rapper, Nelly (‘Over and Over’).

There’s always been an endearing sense of wide-eyed innocence and an inspiring optimism at the core of Tim McGraw’s music, captured on his now-iconic ‘90s country earworm, ‘Where The Green Grass Grows’, as well as on his tear-jerking 2016 call-to-action, ‘Humble and Kind’.

Tim McGraw’s penchant for heartwarming themes and tales of undying romance has thankfully carried over to his most recent releases, 2023’s Standing Room Only and his surprise follow-up EP, Poet’s Resume.

The latter featured the next chapter in Tim McGraw’s unrivalled catalogue of story-songs, ‘20 for 30’, which finds the Louisiana native holding onto his youthfulness while at the same time staring the prospect of ageing square in the eyes, as he delivers his version of George Strait’s ‘Troubadour’.