What is "alternative country"

n. A subgenre of country music meshing traditional forms of country music with such non-country musical styles including folk music, pop music, punk rock and heavy metal.

Alternative country (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, or Americana) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music. It has been used to describe country music bands and artists that have incorporated influences ranging from roots rock, bluegrass, rockabilly, honky-tonk, alternative rock, folk rock, and sometimes punk rock.

Attempts to combine punk and country were pioneered by Jason and the Scorchers, and in the 1980s Southern Californian cowpunk scene with bands like the Long Ryders. These styles merged fully in Uncle Tupelo's 1990 LP No Depression, which is widely credited as being the first "alt-country" album, and gave its name to the online notice board and eventually magazine that underpinned the movement. Members and figures associated with Uncle Tupelo formed three major bands in the genre: Wilco, Son Volt and Bottle Rockets. Other influential bands included Blue Mountain, Whiskeytown, and Blood Oranges, as well as the Drive-By Truckers until they began to move more in the direction of rock music in the 2000s.