|
|
Of course, you still can’t talk Texas sounds without talking country, and country started as a grassroots movement, rural songs plucked out on the fiddle, the banjo, the guitar. Like most American country, Texas country grew out of the sounds of the Appalachian back porch and from there evolved. Jimmie Rodgers, first country music superstar, would relocate his bluesy, yodeling style to Texas (home already to the jazzy Western swing) before he died, and the Panhandle had its own guitar jamming sound. One of the results of the cross-pollinating of styles was the honky tonk, a genre which would make Hank Williams a star and is still wholly embraced by Texans. In the 60s and 70s, Austin served as a kind of singer-songwriter edgy alternative to Nashville’s country, but "outlaw country" would die out and leave that slightly more poppy sound. George Strait and Clay Walker are popular Texas country-western singers today. Abilene is not one of Texas’s musical hubs and in the Panhandle as it is, honky-tonk isn’t really its scene. Live music isn’t beggared by the lack, however, and some clubs are so eclectic as to personally cover almost every Texas genre there is. Otherwise, some clubs have excellent live country music, acoustic guitar is as likely to be featured as big bands, and there’s something playing somewhere almost every night. Amarillo, conversely, is honky-tonk and country-western to its core, with its folk and rock clubs being comparatively negligible. Old Route 66 is lined with honky-tonk clubs and some of the country clubs even require cowboy hats for entrance; fortunately, they’re provided. Since it is the home of Buddy Holly, the rock/country hybrid reigns in Lubbock. The Depot District is Lubbock’s entertainment strip and the restaurants, as well as the off pure music club, often host live music at night. Some famous musicians still play here and even when the bands are local and maybe a little raw with enthusiasm, it’s all informed by that prestigious musical heritage. San Angelo’s honky-tonks and dance halls alike have a fierce country-cowboy spirit, but country is just one genre. Some clubs even go so far as to have themed dance floors and several of them. |
|
|
