Alternative country: Encyclopedia - Alternative country

Alternative country

Alternative country is a term applied to various subgenres of country music.

The term can refer to several ideas. Most generally, any musician who plays a type of country music different from the prevailing trend can be said to play "alternative country". By this standard, for example, the Bakersfield sound was alternative in the 1950s, and the Lubbock, Texas musicians were alternative in the 1960s.

In the 1990s however, "alternative country" came to refer to a disparate group of musicians and singers operating outside the traditions and industry of mainstream country music. In general these musicians eschewed the high production values and pop outlook of the Nashville-dominated industry, to produce music with a lo-fi sound, frequently informed with a strong punk and rock & roll aesthetic, bending the traditional rules of country music. Lyrics are often bleak, gothic or socially aware. Otherwise, the musical styles of artists that fall within this genre often have little in common, ranging from traditional American folk tunes and bluegrass, through rockabilly and honky-tonk, to music that is indistinguishable from mainstream rock or country. Indeed many alternative country artists come from punk and rock backgrounds. This already broad labelling has been further confused by alternative country artists disavowing the movement, mainstream artists declaring they are part of it, and the retroactive claiming of past or veteran musicians as alternative country. No Depression, the most well known magazine of the genre, declares that it covers "alternative-country music (whatever that is)".

Despite this confusion, it is generally agreed that alternative country resulted from two opposing influences. The first is traditional American country music, the music of working people, preserved and celebrated by practitioners such as Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams and The Carter Family. The second is country rock, the result of fusing country music with an aggressive rock & roll sound. The artist most commonly identified as the originator of country rock is Gram Parsons (who referred to his sound as "Cosmic American Music"), although Jason and the Scorchers and Steve Earle are frequently identified as important innovators. These two styles merged in Uncle Tupelo's 1990 LP No Depression, the first identifiably modern alternative country record.

Alternative country is popularly referred to, especially in print, as "alt-country" or sometimes "alt.country". The genre is also referred to under a large number of other names, including "americana", "trashcan americana", "insurgent country", "no depression", "cowpunk", "progressive country", "regressive country", "lo-fi country", "roots rock", "twang core", "rural contemporary", "country-punk", "y'allternative", "hick rock", "alternative country-rock" and many others.

Alternative country - Alternative country musicians

• Absolute Whores
• Ryan Adams
• Dave Alvin
• Be Good Tanyas
• The Beauty Shop
• Willie P. Bennett
• The Blacks
• Blackie and the Rodeo Kings
• Blood Oranges
• Blue Mountain
• Blue Rodeo
• Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
• The Bottle Rockets
• Boxharp
• Cory Branan
• Ed Burleson
• Cletis Carr
• Neko Case
• Calexico
• The Cash Brothers
• Kasey Chambers
• Clothesline Revival
• Caitlin Cary
• Slim Cessna's Auto Club
• The Coal Men
• Corndaddy
• The Sadies
• The Court and Spark
• Cross Canadian Ragweed
• Cowboy Junkies
• Damnations TX
• Desolation Angels
• Johnny Dowd
• Drunk Stuntmen
• Drive By Truckers
• Fred Eaglesmith
• Steve Earle
• Kathleen Edwards
• Eleven Hundred Springs
• Joe Ely
• Evangenitals
• The everybodyfields
• The Famous
• Farmer Not So John
• Geraldine Fibbers
• Rosie Flores
• Freakwater
• Robbie Fulks
• Jimmie Dale Gilmore
• Go to Blazes
• Golden Smog
• The Gourds
• Grievous Angels
• Patty Griffin
• Lys Guillorn
• The Handsome Family
• Butch Hancock
• The Hangdogs
• Hazeldine
• Hemingway Corner
• Jackhead
• Jason and the Scorchers
• Jason Boland and the Stragglers
• Joe Henry
• Joe Buck
• John Wayne Army
• The Jayhawks
• Kelly Hogan
• The Hogwaller Ramblers
• Robert Earl Keen
• Alison Krauss & Union Station
• Lambchop
• Jason and the (Nashville) Scorchers
• k.d. lang
• Lone Justice
• The Knitters
• The Long Ryders
• Lost Dakotas
• Lost Dogs
• Corb Lund
• Lucero
• Shelby Lynne
• Kate Maki
• Carolyn Mark
• Maria McKee
• James McMurtry
• Shannon McNally
• Linda McRae
• Minibar
• Allison Moorer
• My Morning Jacket
• The Mountain Goats
• Nickel Creek
• Nine Pound Hammer
• Nora O'Connor
• Mary Margaret O'Hara
• Oh Susanna
• Okkervil River
• Old 97's
• Old Crow Medicine Show
• Over the Rhine
• Will Oldham
• Palace Brothers
• Gram Parsons
• Pine Valley Cosmonauts
• The Red Dirt Rangers
• The Refreshments
• The Revenants
• Reckless Kelly
• Josh Ritter
• Matthew Ryan
• Big Sandy and His Fly Rite Boys
• Scroat Belly
• Scud Mountain Boys
• Shaver
• 16 Horsepower
• Slobberbone
• Smog
• Son Volt
• Souled American
• Stratochief
• Television Hill
• Uncle Tupelo
• Two Tons of Steel
• Townes Van Zandt
• Waco Brothers
• The Walkabouts
• Dale Watson
• The Weakerthans
• Gillian Welch
• Whiskeytown
• Jim White
• Lucinda Williams
• Wilco
• Woodbox Gang
• Luther Wright and the Wrongs
• The Yayhoos
• Dwight Yoakam

See also

• Americana (music)
• Country music
• Country rock
• Red Dirt Music

Alternative country - Internet Radio

• Twang City - a broadband Internet radio station dedicated to Alternative Country and American Roots Music
• Boot Liquor - Radio for Cowpokes, Cowhands, and Cow-Tippers

• MOXIE Radio - Internet radio for cowboys and hippies... Americana, Alt Country, Southern Rock, Country Rock, Outlaw Honky Tonk & Redneck Drinkin' Music
• Americana Roots - A diverse collection of Americana Music/Alt Country/Texas Music

Categories: Country music genres | Alternative country | Lists of musicians

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Alternative country", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki