Heartland rock is a genre of rock music characterized by a straightforward, often roots musical style, often with a focus on blue-collar workers, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just entertainment.

The heartland, when referring to a cultural region of the United States, is the central land area of the country, usually the Midwestern United States or the states that do not border the Atlantic or Pacific oceans, associated with mainstream or traditional values, such as economic self-sufficiency, conservative political and religious ideals, and rootedness in agrarian life.