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1[floatboxright:
2Primary Stylistic Influences:
3+ CountryMusic, Country Rock, AlternativeRock, OutlawCountryMusic
4]
5[floatboxright:
6Secondary Stylistic Influences:
7+ Cowpunk, FolkRock, JanglePop, Heartland Rock, some bands influenced by HardRock, SouthernRock, PunkRock and/or PsychedelicRock
8]
9
10->''"The defining mood of what is now usually described as 'Americana'... is something deep and folksy and slightly creepy, about family and nostalgia and blood and sex and religious faith and death."''
11-->--Brian Hinton, ''South by Southwest: A Road Map to Alternative Country''
12
13Alternative Country is what happens when you cross the {{outlaw|CountryMusic}} strand of {{country|Music}} with RockAndRoll and the American folk tradition, held together by the [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth do-it-yourself attitude]] of {{punk|Rock}}, as well as the, well, [[ShapedLikeItself alternativeness]] of AlternativeRock. Influenced by Neotraditional Country, Cowpunk and alternative rock, the scene coalesced in the mid-eighties and is going strong today.
14
15Also called insurgent country or Americana (a term that also includes bluegrass and folk), alt-country is mainly defined by its resistance to the perceived commercialism of mainstream and pop country music. Stylistically the genre is a melting pot, with artists incorporating influences ranging from roots rock, {{bluegrass}}, rockabilly, SouthernRock and honky-tonk to alternative rock (especially the JanglePop subgenre, which pioneered the idea of "roots" music with a punk attitude), [[FolkMusic folk rock]], and punk. Instruments include banjos, pianos, guitars, rifts, keyboards, drums, and heavy to medium vocals.
16
17Alt-country was pioneered by folk- and punk- influenced singer-songwriters like Lyle Lovett and John Prine in the mid-eighties. Music/TheByrds were another early influence on the genre with their 1968 album, ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'', which initially sold poorly but would be later VindicatedByHistory as one of the first examples of country rock. Two Byrds members, Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons, would found Music/TheFlyingBurritoBrothers, with Parsons going on to a brief solo career before his untimely death in 1973 at 26 from a drug overdose. 1970s country rock bands like the Music/{{Eagles}} would also serve as building blocks of the genre. Other early pioneers of the sound were artists in an alt-rock subgenre called "Cowpunk", such as Music/MeatPuppets, Lone Justice and the British group The Mekons. This came to prominence in TheNineties, with artists like Music/SteveEarle, Music/LucindaWilliams and Music/DwightYoakam and bands such as Music/UncleTupelo, Music/SonVolt, and Music/{{Wilco}} (the latter of which quickly moved into more general AlternativeRock) and broke into the rock mainstream in the 2000s with the success of Drive-By Truckers, Music/HankWilliamsIII and Music/RyanAdams.
18
19Because of the subgenre's attachment to regional folk cultures, artists can originate from all over the world, but are often from the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains region. The closest the scene has to a capital is Austin, Texas with its annual South by Southwest festival.
20
21There has traditionally been ''very'' little overlap between the fandoms of mainstream country and alternative country, with the latter being treated closer to AlternativeRock and FolkRock.
22
23!Alternative Country Artists:
24[[index]]
25* Music/AlisonKraussAndUnionStation
26* Music/AngelOlsen
27* Music/TheBeatFarmers
28* Music/BlueRodeo
29* Music/{{Calexico}}
30* Music/ChrisStapleton
31* Music/CountingCrows
32* Music/CowboyJunkies (also borderline DreamPop)
33* Music/DanielRomano
34* [[Music/DriveByTruckers Drive-By Truckers]]
35* Music/DwightYoakam
36* Music/FakeProblems
37* [[Music/FiveHundredMilesToMemphis 500 Miles to Memphis]]
38* Music/GillianWelch
39* Music/GoldenSmog
40* Music/GraceAndTony
41* Music/GramParsons
42* Music/TheHandsomeFamily
43* Music/HankWilliamsIII
44* Music/{{Hayden}}
45* Music/JalanCrossland
46* Music/JasonIsbell and the 400 Unit
47* Music/JennyLewis
48* Music/JustinTownesEarle
49* Music/{{Lambchop}}
50* Music/LanghorneSlim
51* Music/LostDogs
52* Music/LucindaWilliams
53* Music/LyleLovett
54* Music/MindySmith
55* Music/MyMorningJacket
56* Music/NekoCase[[note]][[/index]]This does not count her work with Music/TheNewPornographers, which is pure indie PowerPop.[[index]][[/note]]
57* Music/{{Old 97s}}
58* Music/OldCrowMedicineShow
59* Music/{{Ratboys}}
60* Music/RobbieFulks
61* Music/RyanAdams
62* Music/SilverJews
63* Music/SixMileGrove
64* [[Music/SixteenHorsepower 16 Horsepower]]
65* Music/SongsOhia
66* Music/SonVolt
67* Music/SoulAsylum
68* [[Music/SlimCessnasAutoClub Slim Cessna's Auto Club]]
69* Music/{{Slobberbone}}
70* Music/{{Sparklehorse}}
71* Music/SteveEarle
72* Music/SturgillSimpson
73* Music/UncleTupelo
74* Music/{{Wilco}}
75* Music/WovenHand
76* Music/{{Wussy}}
77* Music/ZachBryan
78
79!Subgenres
80
81!!Cowpunk
82Technically a separate genre of sorts (it preceded the solidification of Alt-Country as a genre by a few years), the bands of this primarily 80s movement combined Country with PunkRock and [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]] to create a distinct hybrid. Many bands of the genre had a humorous slant to their lyrics- the Country influence was often PlayedForLaughs. Often overlaps with JanglePop, Punk Blues and Psychobilly.
83* Music/TheBeatFarmers
84* Music/TheBlasters
85* Music/BloodOak
86* Music/BloodOnTheSaddle
87* Music/TheEasyHoes
88* Music/GooberAndThePeas
89* Music/GreenOnRed (also JanglePop and [[PsychedelicRock Neo-Psych]])
90* Music/TheKnitters (a side project of LA PunkRock band Music/XUSBand)
91* Music/LoneJustice
92* Music/LongRyders
93* Music/MeatPuppets
94* Music/TheMekons
95* Music/MojoNixon
96* Music/NinePoundHammer
97* Music/RankAndFile
98* Music/TheRaveUps
99* Music/RubberRodeo
100* Music/SocialDistortion
101* Music/TexAndTheHorseheads
102* Music/TheZiggens
103
104!!Texas country music
105From its humble origins as rock-infused music played in dive bars, Texas country includes some of the best known alt-country acts. The scene is centered on Austin, but there is a distinct West Texas sound.
106* Music/RyanBingham
107* Music/GuyClark
108* Music/SlaidCleaves (originally from Maine)
109* Music/RodneyCrowell
110* Music/BlazeFoley
111* Music/RayWylieHubbard
112* Music/RobertEarlKeen
113* Music/ChrisKnight (originally from Kentucky)
114* Music/CharlieRobison
115* Music/BillyJoeShaver
116* Music/RogerCreager
117* Music/AaronWatson
118* Music/CoreyMorrow
119* Music/PatGreen
120* Music/RecklessKelly (formed in Idaho, but have been based in Texas for the majority of their career)
121* Music/BartCrowBand
122* Music/BrandonRhyder
123* Music/CaseyDonahewBand
124* Music/CharlieRobinson
125* Music/GrangerSmith
126* Music/HayesCarll
127* Music/{{Honeybrowne}}
128* Music/JackIngram
129* Music/CodyJinks
130* Music/JamesMcMurtry
131* Music/HoustonMarchman
132* Music/JBAndTheMoonshineBand
133* Music/JoshAbbottBand
134* Music/JasonEady
135* Music/KevinFowler
136* Music/KylePark
137* [[Music/MickyAndTheMotorcars Micky & the Motorcars]] (younger brothers of Music/RecklessKelly)
138* Music/NoJustice
139* Music/RandyRogersBand
140* Music/RyanBeaver
141* [[Music/SixMarketBlvd Six Market Blvd.]]
142* Music/WhiskeyMyers
143* Music/WilliamClarkGreen
144
145!!Red Dirt
146Centered on Stillwater, Oklahoma, Red Dirt resembles Texas Country but is, if anything, even more ornery.
147* Music/JasonBoland
148* Music/WadeBowen
149* Music/CrossCanadianRagweed
150* Music/JimmyLaFave
151* Music/StoneyLaRue
152* Music/CooderGraw
153* Music/TurnpikeTroubadours
154
155!!Country Folk
156Inspired by Music/BobDylan's Nashville phase, this tends to be a mellower, "thinking person's" style of alt-country.
157* Music/MatracaBerg
158* Music/EmmylouHarris
159* Music/DianaJones
160* Music/KathyMattea (later)
161* Music/JoePug
162* Music/JohnPrine
163* Music/TownesVanZandt
164* Music/SteveYoung
165
166!!Underground Country
167Beginning in the mid-90s, underground country emerged in Nashville by means of cross-pollination between that city's vibrant Country and PunkRock scenes. Musically, acts tend to pay homage to hillbilly swing and pre-60s country such as the Louvin Brothers, but often with a punk twist and a rebellious attitude. [[http://www.savingcountrymusic.com/ Saving Country Music]] is the main scene blog.
168* Music/HankWilliamsIII
169* Music/ShooterJennings
170* [[Music/WayneTheTrainHancock Wayne "The Train" Hancock]]
171* Music/HellboundGlory
172* Music/LegendaryShackShakers
173* Music/ThosePoorBastards
174* Music/TheReverendHortonHeat
175[[/index]]
176
177
178!Tropes common in alt-country include:
179* AsTheGoodBookSays: Bible quotes are quite common in alt-country songs, frequently in an ironic context.
180* CrapsackWorld: Alt-country protagonists tend to grow up there.
181* DarkerAndEdgier: Compared to mainstream country.
182* DeepSouth: Alt-country songs generally tend to portray the American south in a more critical light than the [[SweetHomeAlabama romanticized depictions]] common in mainstream country.
183* TheDrifter: Protagonists frequently are this.
184* DrowningMySorrows: All the time, whiskey being the most popular option.
185* DrugsAreBad: Often played straight--but not always, especially where cannabis is concerned. Alt-country songs that discuss addiction are also likely to at least touch on the underlying issues that can drive substance abuse: for example, [[AbusiveParents "Fireline Road"]] by James [=McMurtry=], or [[BrokenBird "Broken Window Serenade"]] by Whiskey Myers.
186%%* MurderBallad
187* NewOldWest: A common aesthetic in alt-country songs, or in films or series that use them in the soundtrack.
188* OdeToIntoxication: Common, but typically darker than mainstream country songs on the same topic (e.g. "Whitehouse Road" by Tyler Childers).
189* RatedMForManly: Not universal (there are plenty of female artists), but common.
190* ReligionRantSong: While mainstream country is known for its celebration of religious faith, alt-country artists are more willing to question or outright attack religion.
191* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: Simplicity of composition is a defining trait of the genre.

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