Editing Alternative country (section)

==Definitions and characteristics==
[[File:Sonvolt.jpg|thumb|[[Son Volt]] performing in 2005]]
In the 1990s, the term ''alternative country'', paralleling alternative rock, began to be used to describe a diverse group of musicians and singers operating outside the traditions and industry of mainstream country music.<ref name=smith2009/> Many eschewed the increasingly polished production values and pop sensibilities of the [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]]-dominated industry for a more [[lo-fi music|lo-fi]] sound, frequently infused with a strong [[punk rock|punk]] and [[rock and roll]] aesthetic.<ref name=WolfandDuanep549>K. Wolff and O. Duane, eds, ''Country Music: the Rough Guide'' (London: Rough Guides, 2000), {{ISBN|1-85828-534-8}}, p. 549.</ref> Lyrics may be bleak or socially aware, but also more heartfelt and less likely to use the clichés sometimes used by mainstream country musicians. In other respects, the musical styles of artists that fall within this genre often have little in common, ranging from traditional [[American folk music]] and bluegrass, through rockabilly and honky-tonk, to music that is indistinguishable from mainstream rock or country.<ref>C. K. Wolfe and J. E. Akenson, ''Country Music Annual 2001'' (University Press of Kentucky, 2001), {{ISBN|0-8131-0990-6}}, pp. 78–80.</ref> This already broad labeling has been further confused by alternative country artists disavowing the movement, mainstream artists declaring they are part of it, and retroactive claims that past or veteran musicians are alternative country. ''[[No Depression (magazine)|No Depression]]'', the best-known magazine dedicated to the genre, declared that it covered "alternative-country music (whatever that is)".<ref>A. A. Fox, "Alternative to what?": O Brother, September 11 and the politics of country music", in C. K. Wolfe and J. E. Akenson, ''Country Music Goes to War'' (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2005), {{ISBN|0-8131-2308-9}}, p. 164.</ref>