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 | | With the release of their 1990 debut LP, No Depression, the Belleville, IL, trio Uncle Tupelo launched more than simply their own career -- by fusing the simplicity and honesty of country music with the bracing fury of punk, they kick-started a revolution which reverberated throughout the American underground. |
 | | Alternative country outfit the Star Room Boys was formed in Athens, GA in 1995 by Chicago-born singer/songwriter Dave Marr and guitarist Doug Hollingsworth; line-up changes regularly plagued the group, and by the time of their 1999 debut Why Do Lonely Men&Women Want to Break Eack Other's Hearts?, the roster also featured guitarist Philip McArdle (who replaced Hollingsworth two years earlier), pedal steel guitarist Johnny Neff, bassist John McMahon and drummer Bob Fernandez. |
 | | A band with as turbulent an existence as Whiskeytown was bound to implode sooner or later, but by the time they did, they had one of the largest cult followings of any alt-country band. |
 | | Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, Martin's Folly is a roots rock band whose approach embraces the influences of straight-ahead rock & roll, country-rock, and folk-rock, resulting in a mixture that's smart and emotionally powerful without being pretentious or fussy. |
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 | | Based in Ann Arbor, MI, Corndaddy is a band whose style is rooted in Americana/alt-country sound, though there are also strong accents of power pop and straight-up rock & roll in their music. |
 | | Canada's most popular roots rock band, Blue Rodeo, became a veritable institution in their home country, although they never quite moved beyond cult status in the U. |
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 | | Led by the gifted songwriting, impeccable playing, and honeyed harmonies of vocalists/guitarists Mark Olson and Gary Louris, the Jayhawks' shimmering blend of country, folk, and bar band rock made them one of the most widely acclaimed artists to emerge from the alternative country scene. |
 | | Americana singer/songwriter Chris Mills was born an Army brat, spending his formative years living in both the U. |
 | | Drawing their dreamy tunes along a creative line sweeping both Americana and alternative country styles, Granfaloon Bus congregate poetic lyrics with the domineering presence of blissful melodies. |
 | | After touring in support of their 1993 masterpiece, Anodyne, the seminal alternative country band Uncle Tupelo split up over long-simmering creative differences between co-leaders Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy. |
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 | | Playing brittle and evocative alt-country with lyrics that draw powerful and sometimes troubling portraits of life along the margins of the contemporary American West, Richmond Fontaine is the brainchild of singer, guitarist, and songwriter Willy Vlautin, who was born in Reno, NV. |
 | | Blessed with a voice that can sound tough and vulnerable at will and a gift for writing songs that mine rough-hewn beauty from life's tragedies, Gina Villalobos became one of the most acclaimed new artists in the alternative country community with her breakthrough album, 2004's Rock 'n' Roll Pony, though it took her a long, hard road to get there. |
 | | Among the Oak & Ash are a duo consisting of the established singer/songwriters Josh Joplin and Garrison Starr. |
 | | Nominated for a Grammy at age five for doing a duo with his renowned country music dad, Bobby Bare, Jr. |
 | | After spending time at the University of Texas journalism school and The Austin Chronicle in the late '70s, Texas modern rocker Michael Hall joined the Wild Seeds. |
 | | Nashville-based Eef Barzelay is the frontman for Clem Snide, an alt-country/indie band that issued a handful of records in the '90s and 2000s, as well as provided the theme music for the television show Ed. |
 | | Playing a lively, intelligent fusion of folk and rock, Buxton were formed in La Porte, Texas, a town on the Gulf of Mexico roughly 25 miles east of Houston. |
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 | | Combining the emotional honesty and intelligence of a singer/songwriter with the swagger and enthusiasm of a rock & roller, Scott Miller first made a name for himself as guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter with the superb pop/rock band the V-Roys, before establishing himself as a solo artist to watch on his first album with his ad hoc group the Commonwealth, Thus Always to Tyrants. |
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 | | Mixing the heartfelt angst of a singer/songwriter with the cocky brashness of a garage rocker, Ryan Adams is at once one of the few artists to emerge from the alt-country scene to achieve mainstream commercial success and the one who most strongly refused to be defined by the genre, leaping from one spot to another stylistically while following his increasingly prolific muse. |
 | | Lissie Maurus was raised in the riverside town of Rock Island, IL, and she drew upon those blue-collar Midwestern origins to create her own form of indie folk music. |
 | | Formed from the ashes of the Refreshments, Dead Hot Workshop, and the Gin Blossoms, Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers emerged in 1999 as a Southwestern supergroup specializing in literate, pop-tinged Americana. |
 | | No stranger to the stage, Todd Deatherage has been playing in clubs since the age of fifteen. In 2001, the Dallas, Texas-born singer-songwriter packed up and moved to Brooklyn, New York with his guitar and new material in tow in search of a new line-up for The Todd Deatherage Band. |
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 | | Arizona-bred singer/songwriter Roger Clyne first made a name for himself while fronting the Refreshments during the post-grunge heyday of the '90s. |
 | | Chuck Prophet hit the road straight out of high school in the '80s with the psychedelic roots band Green on Red and never looked back. |
 | | When Oneida's Pat Sullivan left the band in 2001, he wanted to try something a little more country. He formed Crazee & Heaven, but it was a short stint. |
 | | In 1995, Mark Olson left the Jayhawks after a stormy decade of mounting success and ventured out on his own to continue pursuing his vision of honest, earthy Americana music. |
 | | Somewhat of a Renaissance man, Jon Langford is perhaps best known as one of the founding members of the influential punk band the Mekons, but has had his hands in many other projects as well as being a prolific and respected visual and comic artist. |
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 | | Led by guitarist/vocalist Chuck Cleaver, Cincinnati's Ass Ponys cut a niche in the indie rock world of the early '90s with their skewed country-rock. |
 | | Firebrand country singer Lydia Loveless combines the honky tonk sound and style of classic country stars like Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline with the no-quarter attitude and spunk of punk rock divas such as Exene Cervenka and Carla Bozulich. |
 | | Country-rock band the Roadside Graves was formed by a group of childhood friends in Metuchen, NJ: singer John Gleason, drummer Colin Ryan, guitarist Rich Zilg, guitarist Jeremy Benson, bassist Dave Jones, and Mike DeBlasio (later joined by keyboard player Johnny Piatkowski). |
 | | Possessing one of the more blood-chilling howls in the gallery of punk and post-punk frontmen, Kim Salmon made a name for himself as lead singer and six-string shredder of apocalyptic down under blues punks the Scientists and later the Surrealists. |
 | | Best known as leader of the Drive-By Truckers, songwriter Patterson Hood was born into a musical family, with his father (David Hood) serving as the longtime bassist for studio legends the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. |
 | | Alt-country and alt-rock artist Collin Herring burst out of the Fort Worth, TX, scene in 2002 with his live debut album, Avoiding the Circus. |
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 | | Born and bred in a city hardly known for its country music heritage, Detroit's Deadstring Brothers play alternative country-rock with no small amount of rock & roll swagger and a deep bluesy undertow that often suggests Exile on Main St. |
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![This Christmas [Original Soundtrack] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/1155218/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "This Christmas [Original Soundtrack] Album Cover")
