“The musicians who came to define the alt.country boom of the late 80s
and 90s believed themselves to be outside of the country music
establishment and its ethos of the time. As Lucinda Williams,
one of the best alt.country musicians of the era, put it, ‘I
definitely don’t feel a part of what I call the straighter country
music industry of Nashville. I’m definitely not connected with that
world. I guess I’m sort of considered an outlaw here, along with Steve Earle.’
The term alt.country (sometimes dubbed ‘insurgent country’) describes a
number of musicians who eschewed the pop-infused country music that
had begun to take hold in the late 70s and 80s. Though its roots reach back to country music icons such as Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, the most direct relevant forerunners to alt.country are Gram Parsons and The Flying Burrito Brothers, who were playing a mix of traditional country music and rock from the late 60s. ...”
