On the road again: The rebirth of outlaw country

For a small subgenre forgotten by younger generations, outlaw country has managed to stay afloat thanks to the talent and persistence of some of its oldest stars.

Earlier this month, the youngest of the three, Earle, returned to his home state of Texas to record his 16th studio album, So You Wanna Be An Outlaw.

The record was an homage to the southern men who rebelled against country music’s conservative industry.

It is also the first time Earle has recorded outside Nashville, the orthodox birthplace of the genre which Nelson, Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash first challenged around 40 years ago.

Back in the 1950s, country music ruled the southern states, and the so-called “Nashville Sound” turned the “old-timey” honky tonk of old, lonesome cowboys into a million dollar industry, with records labels living off the classic “fiddle and guitar” sound of classic country.

It was a strict regime, with the famous Grand Ole Opry venue as its church.

The Opry wanted music for families and conservative southern gentlemen. Anyone who didn’t play by their rules, didn’t play at all.

“Outlaw country was about a moment when Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings had discovered that rock acts had the freedom they didn’t have,” Earle said.

“That’s why they were called outlaws. It didn’t have anything to do with lifestyle.”

The man credited with starting the movement was Nelson, a young crooner from Texas who abandoned Nashville and the Opry, swapped his rhinestone shoes for cowboy boots and created a subgenre that changed the industry forever.

At 84, he is one of the few multi-talented musicians left in the industry.

Writer, composer, actor, poet, activist, the so-called “Hillbilly Dalai Lama” is still carrying on his shoulders the legacy of a genre he created.

Cash and Jennings are long gone. Merle Haggard passed away last year, as did Guy Clark.

Country music is a genre haunted by early deaths caused by either drugs, alcohol or heart failure. Rumour has it that it was a combination of all three that killed Hank Williams, its most iconic star.

Williams passed away in the back of a car on his way to a show.

But Nelson kept going, and is still occasionally touring around the country.

Visit the iconic little town of Luckenbach, Texas, and you may be lucky enough to spot him singing on stage or smoking in the back.

Kristofferson, who together with Nelson, Cash and Jennings created supergroup The Highwaymen, is the only other carrier of the outlaw flag.

Just last week, you could have seen him at Glastonbury, filling the legends slot at the Pyramid Stage. He is 81 years old.

Outside of these three ageing outlaws, country music is changing, evolving into very different branches.

Some are a little bit country, a little more rock’n’roll. Others have kept the western look but swapped the “high lonesome sound” for midwestern folk or loud americana.

But among the rabble, if you listen carefully, you can find the few good men and women determined to bring the outlaw sound to the 21st century.

From the alt-country, honky tonk power of Sturgill Simpson to the melancholic story-telling of Jason Eady, there is still hope for the southern genre.

Just like back in the 1950s, studios, charts and streaming services today dictate what we listen, if not how we chose to do it.

Airwaves are filled with cheap pop and charts dominated by a mediocre songwriter with a looping pedal.

As the great country legends of the past ride off into the sunset, it’s time for a new brand of outlaws to fight back.