I don't post much recent Country Music because is American Country Music isn't dead, it's coughing up blood. It sounds the same: banjo accompanied pop music with lead singers who look like models. It's bland and packaged and boring, and so I don't post much of it.
But Country Music is alive and well in Ireland. This is a TV show that aired just 3 years ago, one with music that would have been familiar here in the '80s or '90s, sung by people who look, well, like normal people. It's the opposite of packaged country-pop, and is refreshing as a mint julep on a hot May afternoon.
Today is the feast of St. Patrick. Here's one more thing to be grateful for the Emerald Isle. They saved civilization once; it shouldn't be too hard for them to save Country Music.
I'm not so sure that American Country Music is completely dead. It certainly is dying in Nashville. Still, there's a bunch of 20 and 30-something kids from Louisiana to Arizona that are making some fabulous music, with loads of heart and respect for traditions.
ReplyDeleteGo put "texas red dirt" into your favorite streaming radio app and see what you come up with. These kids actually give me a little hope for the future.