Alt-country is a musical
genre that first really appeared in the late
80's or early
90's. There were several key places where the music flourished, namely
St. Louis,
Chicago,
Dallas and
Nashville. The music itself is a
hybrid of
punk and
country. A friend described it as "
Willie Nelson meets the
Clash or
Sex Pistols".
The most important, if not well known, alt-country band had to be
Uncle Tupelo. The band broke up, and its members reformed as two seperate bands,
Wilco and
Son Volt. Other alt-country bands include
The Mavericks,
Bottlerockets, The
Old '97s and
Southern Culture on the Skids.