On the heels of its February 11 announcement naming rising country musician Ella Langley (2.4 million Instagram followers) as its newest brand face, American Eagle is unveiling another big music move: It will serve as the exclusive apparel and denim sponsor of Stagecoach, the world’s largest country music festival. The news coincides with the debut of another new American Eagle campaign starring country artist Bailey Zimmerman (2.1 million Instagram followers).
The timing is fortuitous. On February 14, Langley’s song “Choosin’ Texas” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — a rare feat for a country track.
“It goes without saying that we created some of the most culture-defining, talked-about campaigns of 2025,” said Craig Brommers, American Eagle’s CMO. For fall, the brand ran a Sydney Sweeney-fronted denim campaign that proved buzzy, yet controversial. “And we are hitting the ground running in 2026, partnering with the right talent at the right time.”
Langley’s casting occurred before her chart-topping moment, but as Brommers put it, “Sometimes luck is even better than strategy.” He added that her first-ever arena tour, kicking off in May, has largely sold out.
Country music is experiencing a boom. Artists like Beyoncé and Post Malone have ventured into the genre, and Spotify data shows it is the fastest-growing genre among Gen-Z listeners. Furthermore, “It is the most-listened-to music genre for the American Eagle customer, based on data our advertising partners at Spotify pulled for us,” said Brommers. “Country is now culture-defining — it isn’t just about niche Westernwear brands.”
Brommers first attended Stagecoach last year and was struck not only by its scale but also by the number of young attendees. “It makes a lot of sense for American Eagle, Gen Z’s No. 1 jeans brand, to show up,” he said, referencing data from NPD DecisionKey.
The sponsorship will unfold in three parts. On March 25, American Eagle will launch a limited-edition AE x Stagecoach collection blending traditional merch with festival-ready apparel. During the festival, the brand will host two immersive “brand environments” — one on the main grounds and one in the camping area — featuring product customization, interactive games and meet-and-greets. Finally, Langley and Zimmerman, both performing on April 24, will do so in custom American Eagle looks. The scale of the activation is intentional, Brommers said: “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this, and we’re going to do it in a way that gets people excited and gets people talking.”
Melissa Gonzalez, principal of MG2 and founder of MG2 Advisory, an architecture and design firm that has worked on pop-ups and experiential retail, noted that American Eagle is consistently aligned with culture. “[Showing up at a] music festival, [while] not new, is such a great way to tap into a highly immersed audience in a highly-engaged setting,” she said.” … “People are already coming emotionally charged, and they’re ready to create content. … If [a brand can get in on that moment], that’s really smart marketing.”
Details around the customization activations on-site remain limited, but Gonzalez noted that such experiences resonate with Gen-Z consumers by allowing them to “take back a moment of the festival home with them.”
“And then, every time they wear it, it’s a nod back to both American Eagle and the festival,” she said.
Langley’s campaign is already serving the brand well — it has been live for just two weeks, and American Eagle is already seeing the jeans featured in the creative “flying off the shelves,” Brommers said, citing conversations with sales associates at the brand’s Soho flagship.
For Brommers, the Stagecoach partnership serves multiple objectives: “It’s about setting the tone for the year, it’s about selling jeans, and then it’s about not just participating in culture, but defining culture — like we did in 2025. And country [music] is a great place for us to start.”
