Western’s Past, Present & Future
Much can be learned about Country music by examining its debts to Western sounds, and vice versa.

By Vernell Hackett

If they were to sit down and compare notes, the folks working the fields of Appalachia and the family tending the ranch in Wyoming would find more similarities in their lifestyle than might be expected.

Such is the case with traditional country music and Western music. While the singers may come from different parts of the country, the stories told in the songs are about the same things—family, love, the working folks, the land, God and country. In fact, many of the folks who write and sing Western music think of their music as country with a Western flavor. And guess what? Some of the country singers in Nashville think of their music as country with a Western flavor! Joni Harms says her music has a Western feel with a traditional country sound. Harms is steeped in the tradition of the West. Her songs are about family, the land, and life in general.

“ I tend to record some things that sound really Western, and then I may have a few things that are traditional country,” Harms says. “I also prefer the positive ge songs. I’ve just gotten to the point where I’m in that space in my life.” Newly signed country artist Lane Turner looks at his music in the same way. The singer/songwriter was raised in Levelland, Texas. There he soaked up the local culture, including its stories and music. The core element in Lane’s music is the story. “The very essence of what is country music today stems from what we now call Western music,” Turner says. “The songs about life are the very essence of our music—it has always melded together.

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