“Summer Nights” by Rascal Flatts

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Closing the summer season with a feel-good country bop.

Before hanging it up in 2021, Rascal Flatts had quietly become one of the most bankable acts in country music. Since debuting in 2000, the group sold over 27 million albums, with all but two of their 10 studio LPs topping Billboard’s country chart, and over 11 million concert tickets. Though they’re primarily known for their “aw shucks” balladeering and their cover of Tom Cochrane’s “Life is a Highway,” they have some sneaky-good party anthems in their repertoire—none of which is better suited for an end-of-season bash like “Summer Nights.”

Everything you need to know about what works well is present in the music video. It’s lighthearted, feel-good, and somehow both aspirational and deeply relatable. You have partygoers driving ATVs up to a beach party, one supported by a seemingly bottomless supply of beer and smiles, positioning it as the kind of summer bash you wish you could attend. On the other hand, it’s also a breezy lip-sync that, minus the expensive paraphernalia, closely resembles parties you have attended, releasing the nostalgia-fueled endorphins in the process. The visuals are built under the pretext that the band doesn’t want to do another industry-standard music video anyway. They’re regular Joes, just like their fans, so why not let those responsible for their fame drive this one?

It’s fascinating because the song’s parent album, Unstoppable, received mixed reviews upon its arrival. Some critics blamed it on long-repressed hubris finally clouding their collective everyman persona, but I disagree. You listen to that era of Rascal Flatts, and it’s still incredibly earnest. More confident? Absolutely. Arrogant and dismissive of their fan base? Not by a long shot. “Summer Nights,” if nothing else, is a love letter to good times with the people you care about—a snapshot of that moment every year as summer comes to a close when you want one last blowout before returning to work, school, and the corresponding obligations of everyday life.

Make sure you give this one some volume before hitting “Play.”