For Georgia’s first country singer, the genre has a universal language that surpasses geography. From OC Media.
“I’m a Georgian country singer, but this is not a state,” Shota Adamashvili croons in a thoroughly convincing Texas drawl in his 2021 breakout single “Georgian Country Singer.”
Hailing from the small, southern Georgian city of Bolnisi, Adamashvili first became “hooked” on country music through Willie Nelson’s “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys,” which appeared on the soundtrack of the 1979 film The Electric Horseman, starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.
The song “paints a picture; a romantic side of a cowboy life,” Adamashvili tells OC Media — “on the other hand, it shows you they have lots of loneliness going on in their lives.”
“And in many ways I think my life shares a similarity to it, even though I don’t want to herd cows and I don’t live that cowboy lifestyle, but I’m a traveling musician that keeps moving from one place too long, and it’s hard to build stable relationships.”
“I Just Happen to be Georgian”
Adamashvili first began performing over 10 years ago in the ubiquitous underpasses that dot Tbilisi, at a time when almost no one was playing country music.
He notes that while a Georgian influence might appear in his style of storytelling, it does not crop up so much in his style of playing, largely because he does not have a background in Georgian folk music.
People often ask him why he doesn’t sing in Georgian, or “write songs about Kutaisi girls,” a common local topic — “I’m open for it if somebody comes up with a clever idea,” he says.
At the same time, he embraces his Georgian identity, not taking an Americanized stage name as many other international country artists have done. This has caused some confusion in the past, such as when a festival in Texas spelled his name “Adam Ashville.”
“I’m a country music ambassador from Georgia, and it doesn’t matter what language I sing in,” he says, before adding: “I’m a Georgian country singer, but in actuality, I’m just a country singer who happens to be Georgian.”
When he first began, however, he says Georgians did not really get country music, at times even making fun of it.
“Maybe some bands played country music occasionally in bars in Georgia, but there were no out in the public country music artists in Georgia before,” he tells OC Media.
In Latvia, where he has been based for the past four years, there is more familiarity with the genre, in part because of some overlaps with existing musical traditions there, namely the influence of German Schlager music.
“In general, you can’t deny that country music has something very unique, a unique way of storytelling without complicating the lyrics,” he says, adding that “the simplicity and harmony of country music is just a universal language.”
Adamashvili references the Mongolian country singer Enkh-Erdene, whose breakout performance of George Strait’s classic tune “Amarillo by Morning” won him Mongolia’s Got Talent in 2016 and brought him fame in the U.S. — despite not actually knowing English.
Yet, while Adamashvili fully embodies the sensibility of a classic country singer from the U.S., he only first visited the country in 2025, buying cowboy boots in the east Texas town of Jefferson; taking part in a music festival in Marshall, Texas, where he won International Original Song of the Year 2025 for the tune “My Name Doesn’t Ring a Bell” and Texas Spirit Performance of the Year; and traveling via the iconic Greyhound bus.
He recalls that during a four-hour bus ride across Texas, he felt a sense of openness speaking with strangers that reminded him of Georgia, saying “you can just start a conversation with anyone.”
“I think the environment that I grew up in [made me] like a small town boy,” Adamashvili says, speaking about the rural sensibility that so often influences much of the country music coming from the American West.
“It’s also relatable because I’m not the only one, right?” he adds, describing this small town experience as something that creates cross-cultural overlaps that surpass borders.
Adamashvili invokes a line from American country singer Mo Pitney, who sang “country ain’t even a place on the map, it’s a place in your heart.”
“The main reason why I relate to country music and why it spoke to me […] is I think it’s got a place in my heart.”
“If You Can’t Talk About Things, Why Make Music?”
For many, country music has been associated with a certain partisan tilt, or an American conservative worldview, something that Adamashvili acknowledges. As the genre has found renewed mainstream success both in the U.S. and around the world, country singers who buck the stereotype can experience pushback — as do those who lean too far into embracing one side of the political divide. In 2023, American country star and outspoken Republican Jason Aldean’s song “Try That In A Small Town” was widely criticized for its thinly veiled racism and demonization of protesters.
For Adamashvili, however, “country music is not supposed to divide people.”
“It’s supposed to open people’s hearts,” he says, adding that “there’s so much kindness to it.”
“It’s kind of like a prayer when you’re singing country music.”
“I think three chords and the truth is the main principle, right?” he adds, referencing a famous saying by country singer and songwriter Harlan Howard often used to describe the essence of the genre.
It is not that Adamashvili is opposed to talking or singing about politics — far from it — but he resents the notion that country singers are only allowed to talk about political issues when they express a conservative point of view.
“I don’t mind talking about politics in general, because I think saying ‘I’m apolitical’ is ignorant, because everything is defined by politics,” he says.
“I think it’s kind of sad that a lot of people are self-censoring themselves in music or comedy or anybody else, because they’re afraid they’re going to lose a certain amount of followers or audiences,” he continues.
“If you become silent, and don’t talk about these things, why, why make art at all? Why make music?”
At the same time, Adamashvili doesn’t think it’s an obligation for artists to speak about politics — he references when Elvis Presley famously answered, “I’m just an entertainer,” when asked to comment about the Vietnam War.
But, he is quick to add, Elvis made sure to say that he had no opposition to other artists doing so.
Adamashvili also emphasizes that liking a certain country musician shouldn’t inherently mean you share all the same views.
“I’m a Tyler Childers fan, so I’ve got to be left-wing [or] if you’re a Toby Keith fan, you’re right-wing, and you’re this and you’re that.”
“Like I love Charlie Daniels’ music very much. I love Hank Williams Junior, one of my absolute favorites. Do I like some of the political rhetoric from them? No, but I still appreciate them very much.”
He adds that when he visited the U.S., he met lots of conservative people, who were “some of the sweetest people that I’ve ever met, so […] we don’t have to share the same opinions about politics.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure some of my favorite country music singers would not welcome me in the U.S. if I were to migrate,” Adamashvili quips.
Adamashvili certainly has much to say about the ongoing political crisis back in Georgia and the ruling Georgian Dream party. He tells OC Media that people always ask him when he plans to return to Georgia after years in Latvia, but he says he doesn’t know because of fears he may face lengthy questioning at the border, or perhaps something even worse.
Beyond that, Adamashvili criticizes the wider political crackdown and erosion of rights that the party has overseen over the past few years, including a law that bans voting from overseas — something that directly impacts him.
“What if I can’t afford it? What if I don’t have enough money to buy myself a ticket [to return home]?” he asks.
“We all know that they’re trying to basically eliminate us because most of the immigrant votes were lost by Georgian Dream.”
Adamashvili says he supports those protesting, calling them “the best generation of the country,” though he acknowledges it’s “an uphill battle.”
“And if I’m being honest, I would not say I’m optimistic, because of the […] reality that we’re facing.”
He recalls that during a festival in Texas, he was approached by Adjara TV — a regional Georgian media outlet that has recently done away with its last government-critical voices — and he said he responded by immediately telling them he stands in solidarity with imprisoned Georgian journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli.
“They just didn’t even blink […] and moved on without reacting to that comment and just continued to ask me questions.”
After that, he says, he turned down another interview request with the pro-government media outlet Rustavi 2, adding that “Imedi [TV] didn’t even reach out, but who cares about that,” referring to the most prominent pro-government Georgian media outlet.
When asked if he plans to incorporate more political messages into his upcoming album, Adamashvili says he isn’t sure.
“You never know where [the songwriting process] takes you,” he says, but “if it came out that way, I wouldn’t mind.”
But for now, he says his new album — his first full-length record, expected to be out by the end of the year — “is more about loneliness, because I’ve spent so much time by myself.”
One of his songs is about feeling like a misfit, which is not so surprising considering he long held the mantle of being Georgia’s only country singer.
No longer, however, he adds, mentioning the group East Duo that blends Georgian folk music with country sensibilities.
“I used to be the only one, but not anymore, so I’m happy to hear that.”
Nate Ostiller joined OC Media as an editor after a year at The Kyiv Independent, where he covered Ukraine, Russia, and the South Caucasus. He has a background in grant writing and reporting on post-Soviet geopolitics, with a focus on conflict-sensitive journalism and human rights.
