It was a spring day in April 2023 when I decided to throw on my local rock radio station, likely due to me being indecisive about what I wanted to listen to. I had to do a double take because I thought I turned on the country station when I heard “Need a Favor” by Jelly Roll playing. Much to my disbelief, it was indeed the modern rock station. Once the initial shock went away, I had grown to like Jelly Roll fine. I don’t mind some country, and he’d be on my mental list of “country artists I am moderately okay with.” Shortly after that, I discovered another country rock band, Lakeview, originally from Pittsburgh, PA. They are now located in Nashville, Tennessee.
How Lakeview Grabbed My Attention
Whenever I do these blog posts, I listen to the band religiously during my day-to-day life to make a final determination on whether I want to do the blog post or not. While Lakeview is a self-proclaimed “BLUE COLLAR COUNTRY BANDโข” they market themselves to the rock crowd as well.
A lot of their songs, I can see it. Mainstream rock and mainstream country are practically cousins these days and they are proof of that. However, they still lean very country.
Now, you’re reading this post, so I went through with writing a blog post about Lakeview. But why I ultimately went through with writing this blogpost is because they are touring with Breaking Benjamin, Staind, and Daughtry in 2024. This is worth exploring.
Lakeview Band Background:
Lakeview is a duo formed by Jesse Denaro and Luke Healy. Denaro grew up in New York City while Healy grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. Both Denaro and Healy grew up with musical backgrounds and credited classic country music for getting them into music.
Denaro and Healy met while they were with two different metal groups around 2010. They grew closer and eventually became roommates. While living together, they found themselves writing songs together.
The reason we started writing songs together is that we were sick of hearing the same songs on the radio and a lot of it seems boring. We wrote what we would want to hear on the radio.
Jesse Denaro and Luke Healy – countryswag.com
In 2019, the duo relocated to Nashville, Tennessee and signed to Photo Finish Records. Lakeview has been a prolific duo since, making waves in both country music and rock music. They are touring with Breaking Benjamin, Staind, and Daughtry in 2024. This is worth exploring.
Lakeview Music Style and Influences:
There are a lot of guys out there that we look up to, FGL, Jordan Davis, Chris Lane, they create their own lane and do it really well and we pull a lot of inspiration from them, they have helped expand the genre. We love the idea of pushing it as far as we can get, because why not.
Jesse Denaro and Luke Healy – countryswag.com
The common denominator between Florida Georgia Like, Jordan Davis and Chris Lane is that they are all palatable to more than just fans of country music. “Meant to Be” by Bebe Rexha (featuring FGL) was everywhere. “Buy Dirt” by Jordan Davis is a pop song with country flavor. I could make a similar argument with Chris Lane.
In regard to Lakeview, I definitely hear the Florida Georgia Line bro-country influence more than anything. I think the biggest difference is Lakeview really leans into that rock and metal influence instead of pop. Make no mistake, I truly think they’re country artists first. But that didn’t stop Falling in Reverse from rubbing elbows with Papa Roach and Disturbed.
While I firmly believe I am not the target audience for Lakeview’s music, I do think their music is very infectious and catchy. While I am definitely a rock music gal through and through, I am simply not a blue-collar type of gal, so I don’t really identify with a lot of their lyrics. It doesn’t stop me from enjoying their music, and I want to share they slap.
Lakeview Fitting in with Modern Rock
When I first heard that Lakeview was touring with Breaking Benjamin, Staind, and Daughtry, I thought the only band that seemed a little farfetched on that bill was Breaking Benjamin. Although stranger things have happened. Breaking Benjamin was just on the same bill as Alice in Chains and Bush not too long ago.
I attended a show on that tour, but I was there for Alice in Chains. Most of that crowd was there for Breaking Benjamin. Some crowds are more testosterone-fueled than others. That’s the only common denominator I can think of between Lakeview and Breaking Benjamin. I confidently agree that people who are fans of Staind and Daughtry might find themselves liking Lakeview’s music, especially fans of Daughtry, but, in my opinion, I don’t see it with Breaking Benjamin.
I said earlier in the blog that mainstream rock and mainstream country are practically cousins. Artists like Chris Daughtry are why I stand by that opinion. Daughtry cites Pearl Jam as an influence, and MY Pearl Jam hot take is the following – “Daughter” is a country song. Lyrically, if “Goodbye Earl” can be a country song, so can “Daughter.”
On top of that, Daughtry’s rich history on American Idol caught the attention of suburban mom’s everywhere, especially with that performance of “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)” by Fuel. The same suburban American Idol moms probably like Carrie Underwood fine and other mainstream country acts of that time.
I’m talking about these moms:
Nickelback was just on CMT Crossroads with HARDY and it worked more than very well.
My point is, in my opinion, Lakeview on the same bill as Daughtry and Staind is not that alienating. I do wonder how the Breaking Benjamin crowd will react to their performance at these shows, based on my experience when I saw them with Alice in Chains and Bush.
Lakeview Albums and Tracks:
Lakeview have been consistently releasing music since 2020. Their music is available for purchase as a digital download on Amazon and is available for stream on streaming platforms. They also have other merchandise for sale.
Son of A
In my opinion, out of all the songs Lakeview has released, “Son of A” is the closest song they have to a modern rock song. Its song form especially is a rock song. If excessively day drinking at a campground was a song, it’s “Son of A.”
Lyrically, it also fits into rock the best. They still allow their blue-collar flair to shine through, because that is their roots and upbringing. The overall message is to celebrate the pride in where you come from and the values instilled in you, no matter how unconventional it might be, despite your flaws.
There are rock songs with maybe not that exact message, but similar messages, such as “Simple Man” by Lynard Skynyrd, which Shinedown covered. This is huge because fans of Breaking Benjamin especially are probably fans of Shinedown. Both times I’ve seen Shinedown, people were pleased to hear “Simple Man” every single time. But I digress.
What Do the Fans Have to Say About Lakeview?
There’s a nice mix of comments Lakeview receives. Here are some of the comments on their music video for “Home Team.”
- “I’m loving this country metal. We need more of this! Nice change especially for a dude who loves all links of music.”
- “As someone who grew up on metalcore then went through a country phase.. this song is pretty damn cool. Chorus riff is ๐ฏ”
- “Haven’t seen a combination like this before, not even Hardy. I caught one of your songs on his radio and coming from a seasoned metalhead this as all the elements to go all the way. Top 100-style melodies, down tuned guitars, and perfect production. Keep killing it boys, I look forward to watching y’all grow ๐ฅ“
- “60hrs ๐๐ try 80t, months straight, no off days.”
- “Yall have restored my faith in who I am!”
- “Thanks for making us blue collars feel good.”
Conclusion
We are in an interesting era of music. While genres are being treated as their own specialized art, genres are also playing seemingly nice with each other these days. Lakeview is no exception.
Lakeview found themselves popular with country, rock, and even some metal fans. They took the ideology of creating their own lane from other artists and applied it in a way that made sense for them as artists. This is why they will go far. I am excited to watch their careers unfold, and I hope more rock fans give them a listen.
To support Lakeview, below are their social media links:
