Emma’s Country Music Experiences

Over the past few months, Rhetoric of Country Music has pushed me out into the exciting world of country music. From attending concerts to watching television, it has seemed like I have been completely immersed in country all semester long. I was able to dig into the past at record stores while watching today’s country music unfold in TV and award shows. It is safe to say that now I know much more about country music than I ever thought I would. I’ve always enjoyed country and it has always been around me however, this project led me to new experiences pertaining to country. My experiences start with watching the TV series Nashville every week. It’s been my favorite television show since it aired and it continues to peak my interest the more I watch. In March, I attended the Eric Church Outsider’s Tour in Austin with some of my best friends, which was one of the highlights of my semester. On Sunday April 19^th, I sat down on the couch and tuned into the ACM Awards, which I have actually never watched before. Finally, I was able to look back at some older country artists and albums looking around Waterloo Records. Through immersing myself into country music culture I more fully understand the ideals and influences of country music from present day to the past.

https://storify.com/emmam460/country-experiences-reflection

This spring, I have had many opportunities to engage myself in the country music community and I thoroughly enjoyed my time doing it. Through watching TV series Nashville, I really feel like I understand the ins and outs of Nashville as the country music capital of the world. It also gave insight into the music making, record producing, and performing aspects, which are definitely important parts of the genre. Watching the ACM Awards let me take a closer look into current country artist’s songs and albums, helping me understand what the world of country music is like today. I was able to delve into older yet timeless records and artists while searching for records at Waterloo in Austin. I found many albums including a Johnny Cash Greatest Hits album, a Glen Campbell album, a Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris compilation album, and a 1979 Willie Nelson and Leon Russell album. Although I didn’t purchase these records, as I would have no way of playing them, it was fun to browse around the store to see what I could find. Seeing Eric Church in concert had to be the highlight of all of my country music experiences this semester. Having never heard much about him, I didn’t know what to expect going into the show, but I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining and fun he was to watch.

Each of my experiences was so different, which was good because I got to see different aspects of country music and everything that encompasses it. From getting a look into current country and looking back at older country music, I feel like I had a well-rounded experience. The biggest thing I learned from these experiences is that country is a melting pot of an array of sounds, voices, themes, instruments, and subgenres. I had always seen country, as having the same general sound and main ideas, but this is not the case. Country is a much-varied genre and it took immersing myself into the culture to fully realize just how amazing country music is.