The spotlight this week is on Caleb Carius, captain of the football team and varsity basketball player for PV. Carius is a tight end and defensive end on the football team, and a power forward on the talented basketball team. Not only is Carius deeply involved in athletics, but he also has a strong bond to his music.

Carius’s preferred genre is country, especially early 2000’s country music. He finds this genre easy to relate to, connecting him to the lyrics and the rhythm of the songs. “It’s something easy to vibe to,” says Carius. 2000’s country music is his favorite because it’s what he grew up listening to; “It brings back great memories.” Even though he prefers less recent country, Carius’s favorite artist, Luke Bryan, released his first widely distributed album in the late 2000’s and continues to dominate the country music world today.

Luke Bryan worked up from nothing to become a multi-platinum artist. He was raised in Georgia, where he nurtured a deep connection between his family and country music. Bryan has suffered many personal hardships that inspired his music and pushed him to go further with his career. His down-to-earth persona and humble upbringing sparked a bond between Bryan and his fans. Bryan tells Rolling Stone, “I know my love for the fan experience will never change — my love for being onstage and interacting with them. That’s when I can’t answer my cell phone; that’s when nobody can get to me in a bothersome way. This is my world”. Carius personally knows Bryan through family and has been inside Bryan’s tour bus on multiple occasions. Bryan is a role model for Carius and his original music discusses subjects Carius has interest in.

Much like the ever-changing style of music, Carius does not limit himself to one genre. His most-loved song is “Redbone” by Childish Gambino. “I’ve never heard anything like it before, it’s groovy,” says Carius. His “Hard Rock/ Heavy Rap” playlist is what he most frequently listens to, especially during school and on Fridays before his games.