Kendrick Lamar performs at the BET Awards on June 28, 2015. AP photo.
One oft-ignored aspect of Reverb’s American heritage is country music. Before you close the window, here us out: Country music actually used to be good. Before the honky-tonk of the late ’80s came and glazed it in Ford Truck commercialism, country was intricate, sincere and punk, sometimes all at once. Some of our greatest modern songwriters — the likes of Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, for example — stem from a country tradition we’d probably lump in with “folk” today.
Listen to our Fourth of July playlist from last year here.
Now, not all of this year’s Reverb playlist is country — I know, Bowie and the Stones aren’t even American for Texas’ sake. But you will hear a distinct twang, one as American as . Despite how far the genre has fallen lately, we bet you it’ll have you tapping your spurs by Saturday’s first firework’s red glare.
Take a listen to Reverb’s Fourth of July playlist below:
