This document summarizes trends in country music since 1990, including its renewed popularity with urban and suburban audiences after 1987, the rise of "hat acts" and pop country in the 1990s exemplified by artists like Alan Jackson and Shania Twain, and a roots revival in the late 1990s from artists like the Dixie Chicks. It also outlines themes in 2000s country like patriotism, redneck life from Toby Keith and Gretchen Wilson, rock influences in bands like Rascall Flatts, and the continued popularity of country pop through Taylor Swift.

1. MUSC 1800: Popular Music
Country Since 1990
Dr. Matthew C. Saunders
Lakeland Community College
C-1078

2. The New Nashville
• After a time outside the mainstream in the
1980s, country music found renewed interest
in urban and suburban white audiences after
ca. 1987.

3. Looking like a country star…
• “Hat acts”
• Pop country

4. Country in the 1990s
• “Hat acts” (1980s and 1990s)
– Alan Jackson: “Chattahoochee,” 1992
• Country pop (mid-1990s)
– Shania Twain: “Honey I’m Home,” 1999
• Roots revival (late-1990s, early 2000s)
– The Dixie Chicks: “Wide Open Spaces,” 1998

5. Country in the 2000s
• Patriotism and Redneck Life
– Toby Keith: “I Love This Bar,” 2003
– Gretchen Wilson: “Redneck Woman,” 2004
• Rock influences
– Rascall Flatts: “What Hurts the Most,” 2006
• Country pop redux:
– Taylor Swift: “Should’ve Said No,” 2008