What Is Outlaw Country?

Beyond the Nashville Sound: The Country Music Rebellion That Refined the Genre

Outlaw country is a loosely defined movement within country music that gained traction in the late 1960s and 1970s. It was a fight to bring Country music back to its authentic roots in reaction against the polished, formula-driven sound coming out of Nashville.

It was more a joke than anything, like “we felt outlawed by mainstream country music, so our music is outlaw country”.

At its core, outlaw country is about authenticity… artists taking control of their sound & stories.

Where Outlaw Country Came From

“Are you sure hank done it this way?“
– Waylon Jennings, 1975

During the mid-20th century, much of mainstream country music was shaped by major labels and producers who favored a smooth, radio-friendly style often called the Nashville Sound. In a tale as old as time, its commercial success is what lead to the whole genre feeling like generic pop music in a ten gallon hat.

Guys like Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson had moved to Nashville to sell their brand of music, but were quickly disillusioned with the cookie-cutter label games of Nashville. They kept striking out tours on the open road in search of people who appreciated their kinds of music.

And it turned out, it was Willie Nelson who found the core audience that would embrace what would become Outlaw Country in Texas… Austin, to be precise.

The laid back open range style jived perfectly with the Texarkana lifestyle, and with a huge core audience, the loose group of Outlaw Country artists got their chance to put their own stamp on country big enough for the world to see.

What Defines Outlaw Country Music

“Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out of Hand”
– Waylon Jennings, 1978

Like most any genre, Outlaw country isn’t rigidly defined by any one thing or a group of things, but it does tend to share a few common traits:

• Creative independence from major-label control
• Raw, stripped-down production
• Lyrics about freedom, resistance, and real life
• Blues, folk, and rock influences
• Rejecting image-driven pop country aesthetics

It’s also important to remember that the Outlaw Country guys never really loved the term “Outlaw Country”… They really didn’t sing about it often, with the noteworthy exception of Waylon Jennings’ famous “don’t you think this Outlaw bit has done got out of hand”, which was very much a critique on how the culture was losing its authenticity.

When they have a famous collaboration album called “Wanted! The Outlaws”, its hard to argue that they didn’t lean into it at least a little bit, but they tended to downplay the title, and reject all the extra things people tried to make that stand for.

Key Artists in Outlaw Country

“with Waylon and Willie and the Boys”
– “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)” – Waylon Jennings, 1977

There were a small core group of artists who helped define the genre’s spirit and reach, including Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and Merle Haggard. Together, they showed Nashville what country music could be, both commercially and culturally.

But while many musicians contributed to the movement, one name stands above the rest: Waylon Jennings.

Jennings became the reluctant face of outlaw country by demanding full artistic control over his recordings and embracing a tougher, more individualistic sound.

Why Outlaw Country Still Matters

“I’m tired of ya’ll playing dress up and tryin’ to sing them ol’ country songs”
– Sturgill Simpson – “Some Days”, 2013

Just because the outlaw country trailblazers got “too old to die young now” doesn’t mean Outlaw Country went to pasture with them. What the pioneers planted has exploded in popularity.

In the early 2000s, Just when the creep of the Nashville Sound was once again lost on backroads, drowning in red solo cups, a new wave of country music artists would rise up to remind us all that metamodern sounds in country music can, in fact, be as authentic as it wants to be.

Genres aren’t cleanly defined boxes, and there is no cheesy name like “NEW Outlaw Country”, per se. Today, outlaw country is less a “strict” genre and more a core philosophy. Artists who value independence, storytelling, and authenticity continue to draw from its legacy, keeping the outlaw spirit alive long after the movement’s original peak.

These artists don’t necessarily sound “similar” to one another, but are rather a group of tirelessly touring torchbearers who embody the spirit of Outlaw Country — just as the original artists would have wanted it:

Sturgill Simpson
Colter Wall
Margo Price
Cody Jinks
Whitey Morgan
Lucinda Williams
Jason Isbell
Chris Stapelton
Charley Crockett
Jamey Johnson
Turnpike Troubadours
Whiskey Myers

Essential Outlaw Country Albums

Honky Tonk Heroes — Waylon Jennings (1973)

Red Headed Stranger — Willie Nelson (1975)

Wanted! The Outlaws — Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter & Tompall Glaser (1976)

Kristofferson — Kris Kristofferson (1970)

At Folsom Prison — Johnny Cash (1968)

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