Heartland rock is a style of rock music that began to develop in the mid-to-late-1970s in the Midwestern and southern United States. It is characterized by a straightforward, often roots musical style, a concern with farmers, blue-collar workers, and truck drivers of American life, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just entertainment. Heartland rock songs often use anthemic stylings to tell stories about life in working-class regions. The genre's major themes include alienation, despair, unemployment, disillusionment, and nostalgia.
It would reach its commercial peak in the 1980s, where the success of the likes of Bruce Springsteen would inspire a new crop of likeminded artists that take their roots influence to music. While it declined after the 1990s, with other Americana sounds emerging in their place, it nonetheless left a profound and diverse influence, including towards alternative and indie bands; The Killers and The War on Drugs are among those continuing to release albums considered to be Heartland Rock.
Bands and artists associated with the genre include:
- Bo Deans
- John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band
- Tom Cochrane
- Drive By Truckers
- Eagles
- 1976 - Hotel California
- Melissa Etheridge
- The Gaslight Anthem
- The Georgia Satellites
- The Hold Steady
- Bruce Hornsby (Started out as a mix of this and Soft Rock with The Range, with their sole #1 hit "The Way It Is" using the heartland rock ethos to tell the story of the civil rights movement. His solo work saw him going for a more adult-alternative-influenced sound)
- The Kentucky Headhunters
- The Killers
- 2020 - Imploding the Mirage
- John Mellencamp
- Steve Miller Band
- OAR (started out as a jam band before switching to an adult-alternative-influenced take on the genre)
- Tom Petty
- 1993 - "Mary Jane's Last Dance"
- Bob Seger
- Bruce Springsteen (Trope Codifier and Genre Popularizer for Heartland Rock. His success brought attention to a variety of other acts ranging from Tom Petty, Bob Seger, and John Mellencamp).
- 1973 - Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.
- 1975 - Born to Run
- 1980 - The River
- 1984 - Born in the U.S.A.
- 2002 - The Rising
- George Thorogood
- Titus Andronicus
- The War on Drugs
- Pete Yorn