Neotraditional country

Country
Stylistic origins	Appalachian folk music, blues, spirituals and Anglo-Celtic music
Cultural origins	early 20th century Appalachia, esp. Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky
Typical instruments	Guitar - Steel guitar - Dobro - Harmonica - Bass - Fiddle - drums - Mandolin - Banjo
Derivative forms	Bluegrass
Subgenres
Bakersfield Sound - Bluegrass - Close harmony - Country folk - Honky tonk - Jug band - Lubbock Sound - Nashville Sound - Neotraditional country - Outlaw country - Red Dirt - Texas Country (complete list)
Fusion genres
Alternative country - Country rock - Psychobilly - Deathcountry - Rockabilly - Country-rap - Country pop
Regional scenes
Australia
Other topics
Musicians - List of years in country music

Neotraditional country, also known as "new traditional" country, is a country music style that rejects most elements of modern Top 40 country music. Neotraditional country emphasizes the instrumental background, and often even the dress and fashions, of country music of the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s. Some neotraditional artists are sometimes associated with the alternative country movement.

History

Neotraditional country was born as a reaction to the perceived blandness of mainstream country music. New (or "neo-") traditionalism looked to the elders of country music like Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams and Kitty Wells for inspiration, and was a precursor to the more general categorization known as New country.

In the mid-1980s Ricky Skaggs, a picking prodigy who took his inspiration from Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley (Skaggs was a Clinch Mountain Boy as a teen), began making music that he believed brought country back to its roots.

The old was not only new again, it seemed to be widely welcomed. Skaggs was not alone, however. Artists like Gail Davies, whose hits included re-makes of songs by Ray Price, Webb Pierce, Carl Smith, The Louvin Brothers and Johnny & Jack, set the tone in the late '70s and early '80s. Following that Randy Travis, George Strait and The Judds used vintage musical stylings, covers of classic country material, and carefully crafted vocal delivery to help bring New Traditionalism to the vanguard of country music for a time. Neotraditional country music became very popular during the 1980s and the 1990s, but with the coming of the new century, pop-rock-oriented musicians took over the charts.

In 2000, George Strait and Alan Jackson recorded a song titled "Murder on Music Row" which spoke directly to the rift between neotraditionalists and new country artists. Among the lyrics are brazen barbs at the Nashville establishment such as "Someone killed tradition and for that someone should hang."

Neotraditionalism vs. alternative country

Though the terms are erroneously considered synonymous, Alternative country is not the same as Neotraditional country. Alternative country artists reject mainstream country music completely and generally have a more rough-and-tumble sound. On the other hand, many Neotraditional Country artists are considered "mainstream" musicians (George Strait, Alan Jackson, Randy Travis...) that merely adhere to a more "traditional" country music sound.

Furthermore, many Alternative country artists are even heavily influenced by Alternative rock, something that is usually rejected by neotraditionalist country music, which is rather influenced by folk and bluegrass music. Alternative country artists usually have more of a rock and roll sensibility (if not in sound, at least in their musical approach), and frequently collaborate with artists and producers in other genres.