American Eagle wants a piece of country music’s moment. The retailer is partnering with rising star Bailey Zimmerman and will serve as the exclusive apparel and denim sponsor of Stagecoach, one of the world’s largest country music festivals.
The partnership marks the next phase of the “American Eagle Jeans Country” campaign, which kicked off earlier this month with a product collaboration with country star Ella Langley. The retailer aims to capitalize on the interest in country music and maintain momentum after several high-profile marketing campaigns in 2025.
While American Eagle has sponsored music festivals like Lollapalooza in the past, Stagecoach—taking place April 24-26 in Indio, Calif.—marks its first country music event.
At the festival, the brand will host two immersive experiences with interactive games, product customizations, and other activities. Zimmerman and Langley will wear American Eagle clothing at the festival, where they’re both performing.
American Eagle will also release a limited-edition clothing collection on March 25 commemorating Stagecoach.
In addition to the in-person activation, the campaign will include social media, outdoor and in-store activations, and a 60-second spot starring Zimmerman, titled “Be Yourself.”
The campaign is rooted in data. When American Eagle asked its advertising partner Spotify to dig into its data, the company found that country music was a top genre for the retailer’s Gen Z customers. Country music also seemed to be taking up more mindshare among American Eagle’s customer panel of 2,000 young people.
“Having created some campaigns that definitely got people talking in 2025, we thought that we would start 2026 with another campaign that will hopefully get people talking and to embrace the moment that country music is having,” American Eagle CMO Craig Brommers told ADWEEK.
As with any campaign of this scale, American Eagle is tracking short-, medium- and long-term marketing metrics, Brommers said. In the short term, American Eagle wants to drive revenue, traffic, and new customer acquisition. In the medium term, it is targeting brand affinity, and it’s looking to sustain the momentum it created in 2025 throughout this year.
