Ethan’s Excerpts: Independent country artists are the future

When someone talks about why they do not like country music, their argument usually involves the idea that all country music sounds the same. While this is obviously not true, as every musical genre has variation; country music does tend to follow a pattern of white guys talking about trucks, beer, dirt roads etc. However, in recent years, a surge of country and American artists have pushed back against that narrative. From queer to Black artists, from murder ballads to time-honored songs, the identity and sound of country music has been changing, though the radio may not reflect it.