Primary Stylistic Influences:
+ {{Country}} Music, Country Rock, AlternativeRock
Secondary Stylistic Influences:
+ Cowpunk, {{Folk}} Rock, HeartlandRock, some bands influenced by HardRock, SouthernRock, PunkRock and/or PsychedelicRock

->''"The defining mood of what is now usually described as 'Americana'... is something deep and folksy and slightly creepy, about [[FamilyHonor family]] and [[NostalgiaAintLikeItUsedToBe nostalgia]] and [[MurderBallad blood]] and [[InterCourseWithYou sex]] and [[NotChristianRock religious faith]] and [[TearJerker death]]."''
-->--Brian Hinton, ''South by Southwest: A Road Map to Alternative Country''

Alternative Country is what happens when you cross the outlaw strand of [[CountryMusic country]] with [[RockAndRoll rock 'n' roll]] and the American folk tradition, held together by the [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth do-it-yourself attitude]] of [[PunkRock punk]]. Influenced by Neotraditional Country, Cowpunk and AlternativeRock, the scene coalesced in the mid-eighties and is going strong today.

Also called insurgent country or Americana (a term that also includes bluegrass and folk), alt-country is mainly defined by its resistance to the perceived commercialism of mainstream and pop country music. Stylistically the genre is a melting pot, with artists incorporating influences ranging from roots rock, {{bluegrass}}, rockabilly, [[SouthernRock Southern rock]] and honky-tonk to alternative rock (especially the JanglePop subgenre, which pioneered the idea of "roots" music with a punk attitude), [[FolkMusic folk rock]], and punk. Instruments include banjos, pianos, guitars, rifts, keyboards, drums, and heavy to medium vocals.

Alt-country was pioneered by folk- and punk- influenced singer-songwriters like Lyle Lovett and John Prine in the mid-eighties. Other early pioneers of the sound were artists in an alt-rock subgenre called "Cowpunk", such as Music/MeatPuppets, Lone Justice and the British group The Mekons. This came to prominence in TheNineties, with artists like Music/SteveEarle, Music/LucindaWilliams and Music/DwightYoakam and bands such as Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, and Music/{{Wilco}} (who quickly moved into more general AlternativeRock) and broke into the rock mainstream in the 2000s with the success of Drive-By Truckers, Music/HankWilliamsIII and Music/RyanAdams.

Because of the subgenre's attachment to regional folk cultures, artists can originate from all over the world, but are often from the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains region. The closest the scene has to a capital is Austin, Texas with its annual South by Southwest festival.

There has traditionally been ''very little'' overlap between the fandoms of mainstream country and alternative country, with the latter being treated closer to AlternativeRock and FolkRock.

!Alternative Country Artists:
* [[Music/SixteenHorsepower 16 Horsepower]]
* [[Music/FiveHundredMilesToMemphis 500 Miles to Memphis]]
* Music/RyanAdams
* Music/TheBeatFarmers
* Music/BlueRodeo
* Music/NekoCase[[note]][[/index]]This does not count her work with Music/TheNewPornographers, which is pure [[AlternativeIndie Indie]] PowerPop.[[index]][[/note]]
* Music/CountingCrows
* Music/CowboyJunkies (also borderline DreamPop)
* [[Music/DriveByTruckers Drive-By Truckers]]
* Music/SteveEarle
* Music/FakeProblems
* Music/RobbieFulks
* Music/BrantleyGilbert
* Music/GoldenSmog
* Music/GramParsons
* Music/AlisonKraussAndUnionStation
* Music/{{Lambchop}}
* Music/LyleLovett
* Music/OldCrowMedicineShow
* Music/MyMorningJacket
* Music/{{Old 97s}}
* Music/SonVolt
* Music/SilverJews
* Music/SixMileGrove
* [[Music/SlimCessnasAutoClub Slim Cessna's Auto Club]]
* Music/{{Slobberbone}}
* Music/LanghorneSlim
* Music/MindySmith
* Music/{{Sparklehorse}}
* Music/UncleTupelo
* Music/GillianWelch
* Music/{{Wilco}}
* Music/WovenHand
* Music/HankWilliamsIII
* Music/LucindaWilliams
* Music/DwightYoakam


Technically a separate genre of sorts (it preceded the solidification of Alt-Country as a genre by a few years), the bands of this primarily 80s movement combined Country with PunkRock and [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]] to create a distinct hybrid. Many bands of the genre had a humorous slant to their lyrics- the Country influence was often PlayedForLaughs. Often overlaps with JanglePop, Punk Blues and Psychobilly.
* Music/TheBeatFarmers
* Music/TheBlasters
* Music/BloodOak
* Music/BloodOnTheSaddle
* Music/TheEasyHoes
* Music/GooberAndThePeas
* Music/GreenOnRed (also JanglePop and [[PsychedelicRock Neo-Psych]])
* Music/TheKnitters (a side project of LA PunkRock band Music/{{X}})
* Music/LoneJustice
* Music/LongRyders
* Music/MeatPuppets
* Music/TheMekons
* Music/MojoNixon
* Music/NinePoundHammer
* Music/RankAndFile
* Music/TheRaveUps
* Music/RubberRodeo
* Music/SocialDistortion
* Music/TexAndTheHorseheads

!!Texas country music
From its humble origins as rock-infused music played in dive bars, Texas country includes some of the best known alt-country acts. The scene is centered on Austin, but there is a distinct West Texas sound.
* Music/RyanBingham
* Music/GuyClark
* Music/SlaidCleaves (originally from Maine)
* Music/RodneyCrowell
* Music/RayWylieHubbard
* Music/RobertEarlKeen
* Music/ChrisKnight (originally from Kentucky)
* Music/CharlieRobison
* Music/BillyJoeShaver
* Music/RogerCreager
* Music/AaronWatson
* Music/CoreyMorrow
* Music/PatGreen
* Music/RecklessKelly (although not from Texas originally, they are marketed as such and play among other Texas artists)
* Music/BartCrowBand
* Music/BrandonRhyder
* Music/CaseyDonahewBand
* Music/CharlieRobinson
* Music/GrangerSmith
* Music/HayesCarll
* Music/{{Honeybrowne}}
* Music/JackIngram
* Music/HoustonMarchman
* Music/JBAndTheMoonshineBand
* Music/JoshAbbottBand
* Music/JasonEady
* Music/KevinFowler
* Music/KylePark
* [[Music/MickyAndTheMotorcars Micky & the Motorcars]] (younger brothers of Music/RecklessKelly)
* Music/NoJustice
* Music/RandyRogersBand
* Music/RyanBeaver
* [[Music/SixMarketBlvd Six Market Blvd.]]
* Music/WhiskeyMyers
* Music/WilliamClarkGreen

!!Red Dirt
Centered on Stillwater, Oklahoma, Red Dirt resembles Texas Country but is, if anything, [[UpToEleven even more ornery]].
* Music/JasonBoland
* Music/WadeBowen
* Music/CrossCanadianRagweed
* Music/JimmyLaFave
* Music/StoneyLaRue
* Music/CooderGraw
* Music/TurnpikeTroubadours

!!Country Folk
Inspired by [[BobDylan Bob Dylan's]] Nashville phase, this tends to be a mellower, "thinking person's" style of alt-country.
* Music/MatracaBerg
* Music/EmmylouHarris
* Music/DianaJones
* Music/KathyMattea (later)
* Music/JoePug
* Music/TownesVanZandt
* Music/SteveYoung

!!Underground Country
Beginning in the mid-90s, underground country emerged in Nashville by means of cross-pollination between that city's vibrant Country and PunkRock scenes. Musically, acts tend to pay homage to hillbilly swing and pre-60s country such as the Louvin Brothers, but often with a punk twist and a rebellious attitude. [[http://www.savingcountrymusic.com/ Saving Country Music]] is the main scene blog.
* Music/HankWilliamsIII
* Music/ShooterJennings
* [[Music/WayneTheTrainHancock Wayne "The Train" Hancock]]
* Music/HellboundGlory
* Music/LegendaryShackShakers
* Music/ThosePoorBastards

!Tropes common in alt-country include:
%%* AsTheGoodBookSays
* CrapsackWorld: Alt-country protagonists tend to grow up there.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Compared to mainstream country.
* TheDrifter: Protagonists frequently are this.
* DrowningMySorrows: All the time, whiskey being the most popular option.
%%* MurderBallad
%%* OdeToIntoxication
* RatedMForManly: Not universal (there are plenty of female artists), but common.
%%* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth