Every All-Black Outfit At iHeartRadio Country Fest

If you were new to country music, the iHeartRadio Country Festival could have taught you a few things about America's most prolific genre: country singers sing, they never lip sync; every song will either make you dance, make you drink, or make you cry; it's a little dude-heavy; and those dudes love nothing more than an all-black ensemble... preferably with accessories!

More than half of the artists who took the Austin, Texas stage on Wednesday night were clad only in the darkest of hues. It's no new thing for country artists, especially male country artists, to deck themselves out in all black, dating back to the Man in Black himself, Johnny Cash. It makes sense: black hides sweat, it's simultaneously bad ass and flattering, and it just makes you look cool. But until you line up Rascal Flatts after The Band Perry, after Tim McGraw, and so on and so forth, you might not realize that all-black is less of a country musician preference, and more of a seemingly obligatory uniform.

Now, who is enforcing this uniform, I have no idea. I can only assume Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, and Darius Rucker have something to do with it, as they were notably not dressed in their tightest black tees, opting for dark gray, grayish-blue, and blueish-gray, respectively. Here's every all-black outfit from the iHeartRadio Country Festival (excluding a few accent colors, including a few hat and hand accessories)...

Tim McGraw

After Paisley and Bentley opened the night with killer performances but shameful ventures into the land of almost-navy t-shirts, McGraw came in like the legend he is and set the record straight with a triple whammy: black button-down (unbuttoned to the sternum, of course), black leather pants, and a black cowboy hat. You deserve only the best, Mr. McGraw.

Brantley Gilbert

Brantley Gilbert was backstage in a University of Georgia hoodie talking about how he always ends up on the Worst Dressed list at every event he attends, but at least he knows how to keep it respectable onstage: black jeans, black crewneck tee, and a black baseball cap. Oh yeah, and a black microphone complete with brass knuckle attachment... also black.

Tyler Farr

Tyler Farr mixed it up a little with actual blue jeans, but he made up for it with what appeared to be two different colors of black on his v-neck tee and vest up top. Surely his v-neck didn't have short sleeves beneath a vest, you might be asking. You would be wrong, but it was still all-black, so really, you don't care.

The Band Perry

The Band Perry gave a truly impressive all-black showing: all three siblings were fully outfitted head-to-toe in , with only the slightest of red accents on Kimberly's dress. Well done, Perrys.

Rascal Flatts

The men of Rascal Flatts weren't as wholly successful, with Joe Don Rooney kind of blowing it for everybody in a graphic tee and gray leather jacket. But Gary LeVox and Jay DeMarcus held it two-thirds down in black leather and yet another short-sleeves-plus-vest combo.

Honorable Mention: Jennifer Nettles

OK, so Jennifer Nettles didn't actually take the stage tonight (unfortunately), but she fulfilled the hosts' black clothing quota in a dress that was perhaps crocheted out of a trampoline... either way, it looked fantastic. Just like all of the other 1,800 all-black outfits.

Images: iHeartRadio/Twitter (7)