Author Archives: Abby Bourland

I have grown up in a house that absolutely does not believe in country music. My dad always said, “I would like country music, but I don’t drive a pick up truck or sleep with my sister.” A little extreme if you ask me, but his perspective has kept my knowledge of country music and history in the dark. I have learned more about prominent country artists and the evolution of country music in the past 15 weeks than I have in the past 15 years.

The rhetoric of country music class made me more eager to discover what exactly I had been missing out on. One thing that really sparked my interest was learning about the outlaws. These artists were the transcendentalists within country music, and I admired their talent, dedication, and passion towards making brilliant music despite what others thought. So I was beyond thrilled when I found out Willie Nelson was playing in Fort Worth over Thanksgiving break.

Willie Nelson Concert

This man is a legend, and I got to see him live! The turnout at Billy Bobs was unbelievable. It was amazing to see generations of people there. There were kids my age, their parents, their parents’ parents, and quite possibly their parents’ parents’ parents. Everybody was singing along, dancing, and screaming “Willie Nelson!!!” as he sung some of his famous hits like, “On the Road Again”, “Always on My Mind”, and “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys”.

Although our seats were pretty much right next to the entrance, I was analyzing him from the big screen. He is a magnificent performer and took a maximum of two breaths between every song. He sang non-stop for 90 minutes while flawlessly playing the guitar and throwing multiple bandanas to those lucky fans in the front row. His voice was a balance of smooth and nasally with a smoky age to it, while his music offered flavors of bluegrass, Nashville, and folk.

Willie Nelson Statue

His concert led me all the way to his statue in Austin. I was hungry for more information on Willie Nelson and his impact. The singer’s acclaimed musical talent is what prompted the creation of the statue in the first place. The bronze statue was “inadvertently” unveiled on 4/20, which further denoted the stoner reputation Nelson has. His thriving musical career as an outlaw in the country music industry has permanently, pun intended, made him a legendary icon.

Dixie Chicks’ Documentary

After discussing the outlaws of country music in class, I thought about the Dixie Chicks and wondered if they belong under this category after their scandal. I decided to revisit the band’s political mishap and watch their documentary, “Shut Up and Sing”. The main singer, Natalie Maines, decided to disclose a small comment during one of their shows, “…we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas”. This left their career severely wounded and caused families, fans, and American citizens to trash their various Dixie Chicks CDs. Although The Dixie Chicks voiced their honest opinion, they disrespected a large quantity of people in the US and were reprimanded by and removed from multiple radio stations. This same mindset of ‘doing what you want and not caring what others think’ can be found in many prevalent country artists in the ‘70s that are viewed as outlaws. However, such artists, like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, were fighting against Nashville, while the Dixie Chicks were fighting against a bigger and more political problem. Still, such rebelliousness, even though not in the same boat as Jennings and Nelson, can somewhat be considered outlaw.

Since the beginning of the 2015 fall semester, I have done a complete 180 and learned so much about the most popular and historic music genre in Texas. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to take this class and the chance to understand country music in a new light. Watching documentaries about famous country artists, attending a concert of a legendary country icon, and seeing 2000 pound statue of a country singer in the center of downtown, Austin, all help process the impact country music has had on Texas and the people who live in it. I am truly excited to continue my learning and apply what I know to future events.

Times are changing, and the way we listen to music is changing too. In 2001, Steve Jobs changed the way we listened to music through his new media player and library called “iTunes” on the new iPod invented. iTunes has been an excellent way for artists to publish their music and become known.

However, by 2008 Daniel Ek changed the game and came out with Spotify, a music library which enables users to stream music instead of downloading it first. A lot of people adore Spotify because it resembles a social media in that it lets its users follow other users, their playlists, and albums and hit singles of famous artists as well

Every genre of music has multiple playlists available to them, and one of the most popular, loved and favored is Country.

Generations and generations of country music are now available for all to hear. From the ageless, remarkable baritone voice of Johnny Cash, to the prominent ‘King of Country’, George Strait, and all the way to the youngest Grand Ole Opry inductee, Carrie Underwood, Spotify is teeming with some deep rooted and pop cultured country music.

It’s intriguing to note the differences in the sounds of country throughout the ages. The wide range of country artists displayed show the progressions of country music from past to present. Country stars, such as Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, and Dolly Parton denote the twangy, original country music of the past, while Chris Janson, Thomas Rhett, and Jana Kramer are examples of newer artists that depict the more hip hop gravitated style of country. Although time begets change in popular music, Spotify has made the popular music of the past easily attainable.

The overabundance of country playlists can be overwhelming, but it’s engrossing to discover which songs belong in the most followed playlists. Take the playlist ‘Hot Country’ for example, with almost 2 million followers. It is easy to determine who the most prominent country artists of today’s pop culture are.

It’s a no brainer that Luke Bryan, George Strait, Carrie Underwood, and Tim McGraw have a couple of songs on this playlist. However, many of the artists listed were unfamiliar to me and had songs that drifted toward the newer and more pop sound of bro-country. Bro-country seems to be the more contagious and more prominent type of country listened to in today’s world. There must be something appealing about the combination of rock, hip-hop, and country music.

For other playlists, it really depends on the mood you’re in. Are you looking for some tunes to jam to at a tailgate? Listen to ‘Chillin’ on a Dirt Road’ that has upbeat songs like, ‘Somebody Like You’ by Keith Urban, or ‘Honey Bee’ by Blake Shelton.

Or possibly you’re into a serious and calm mood and just want to listen to soft country. Maybe the “Country Coffeehouse’ with songs like ‘Before These Walls Were Blue’ by Wade Bowen or ‘A Woman Like You’ by Lee Brice would be a better fit.

Maybe if you want to get crazy, you can even listen to ‘Canadian Country’! But why waste your time when you can listen to some good ol’ American country.

With the improvement of technology through the years, country music has been able to reach out to more of its fans and keep them well entertained. Pits and peaks of different subgenres in country music will continue to oscillate as time moves forward. But I wonder with more advancements to come, will country songs and artists of the past be infused and combined with country music in the future?