I was standing in the crowd at the Luke Bryan and Shane Profitt show. At some point, I stopped watching the stage and started watching everybody else. Boots were everywhere.
There were white ones, brown ones, tan ones, and black ones. Some had clearly done real work in real mud. Others, though, looked like they were bought that afternoon. In fact, someone had probably been warned, “These are going to hurt by the encore.”
Still, it did not matter, because they all worked.
Nobody announced a dress code, and there was no pre-show memo. Yet a whole lot of people walked in already knowing the assignment. For them, the boots were simply part of the night.
That is what got me.
A Way to Say “I’m In”
It was never really about footwear. Instead, it was about feeling like you belonged in the room. The Swifties do the same thing with friendship bracelets. It is a different accessory, but it is the exact same idea. One is beads and letters. The other is leather and a questionable amount of arch support.
Either way, the message is the same: I’m in.
That is one of the best things fandom does, because it hands people small ways to spot each other.
Swifties trade bracelets, and Parrotheads had the Hawaiian shirts and shark fins. Deadheads had tie-dye, while KISS fans painted their faces. Sports fans wear the jersey. Meanwhile, country fans have boots, hats, and denim. On top of that, they share a quiet agreement that the show starts long before the first song.
It starts in the parking lot. It also starts in the group text. In fact, it starts the second somebody asks, “Are we wearing boots?” And by then, everybody already knows the answer. Note, I was that guy but opted for flip flops.
Radio Used to Do This Well
Radio used to be really good at this. There was a time when a station bumper sticker actually meant something. Back then, a station T-shirt was not just cotton the promo team fired into a crowd. Instead, it was a little badge. Call letters, catchphrases, listener clubs, van hits, concert shirts, and hometown events all added up. Together, they built a feeling that the station was not just something you listened to.
It was something you were part of.
Maybe that is harder now. After all, the audience is spread thin. There is endless audio, everywhere, all the time. So a shared moment is tough to build when everybody holds a private world in their hand.
But that is exactly why the opening is still there.
Don’t Force It — Signal It
Radio does not need to force it. Honestly, forcing it is usually where things get embarrassing. Nobody wants a corporate friendship-bracelet campaign, dreamed up by six people arguing about font size.
Still, radio can make small signals that feel local, useful, and cool.
For example, a rock station could do a limited-run patch that looks good on a jacket. A country station could make boot tags or a hat tied to its biggest summer show. Meanwhile, a Top 40 station could build collectible bracelets around the concerts that matter. A sports station could put out rivalry gear that feels like the parking lot, not the prize closet.
The whole test is simple. Would a listener wear it even if you were not handing out tickets for doing it?
Rituals Still Matter
The same goes for the rituals. After all, the best shows have always had them. There is the Friday roll call and the inside joke the audience is in on. There is the first-song-at-five tradition and the pre-concert meetup. And there is the phrase people repeat because it feels like theirs. These are little things, but little things turn into habits.
So that is still open ground.
Someone driving to work alone can still feel connected to everybody else. That has always been one of radio’s best tricks. In other words, it takes a private moment and makes it feel shared. Because of that, it makes the car a little less lonely.
Own the Local Conversation
Locally, radio still has the edge. Before the big country show, own the boot conversation. Before the game, own the jersey conversation. Before the first lake weekend, own the photos, the playlist, and the check-ins. And before the festival, do not just show up with a tent and a banner. Instead, give people a reason to say, “This is where we’re meeting.”
None of that needs a huge budget. However, it does need attention. So watch what your listeners are already doing, and then help them do it together.
That was the thing about those boots. No marketing department invented them, because they were already part of the culture. Therefore, the smart move is not to manufacture the feeling from scratch. Instead, notice it, turn it up, and hand people more ways to join in.
The Better Question
Radio has spent a long time asking how to get people to listen longer. Of course, that still matters. But here is another question worth chewing on.
What makes people feel like they are part of us?
Because when people feel included, they show up differently. Sometimes they bring signs. Other times they wear the jersey. Sometimes they trade the bracelets.
And sometimes they lace up the boots.
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David Hill serves as a Music Radio Editor, Columnist and Features writer for Barrett Media. A radio lifer with more than 30 years behind the mic, in the control room, and in the program director’s chair, David’s career spans influential stops at brands such as WIYY 98 Rock, WBAL-AM, and 99X. He has worked across multiple formats and ownership groups, including iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media, developing talent, breaking music, and navigating every major industry shift from diary to PPM and terrestrial dominance to streaming disruption. When he’s not writing or analyzing the industry, Dave runs The Tune Farm, a marketing firm built to help artists and brands grow audience the same way great radio always has—by creating connection, not just impressions. He can be reached at David@BarrettMedia.com.