Alternative country (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, or Americana) is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music. It has been used to describe country music bands and artists that have incorporated influences ranging from roots rock, bluegrass, rockabilly, honky-tonk, alternative rock, folk rock, and sometimes punk.
In the 1990s the term alter...
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Alternative country (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, or Americana) is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music. It has been used to describe country music bands and artists that have incorporated influences ranging from roots rock, bluegrass, rockabilly, honky-tonk, alternative rock, folk rock, and sometimes punk.
In the 1990s the term alternative country, paralleling alternative rock, began to be used to describe a diverse group of musicians and singers operating outside the traditions and industry of mainstream country music. Many eschewed the increasingly polished production values and pop sensibilities of the Nashville-dominated industry for a more lo-fi sound, frequently infused with a strong punk and rock & roll aesthetic. Lyrics may be bleak or socially aware, but also more heartfelt and less-often follow the clichés sometimes used by mainstream country musicians. In other...
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