By Erin Bury
It’s a memory most kids of the ’90s have. Mom or Dad playing one of Vince Gill’s love songs, or listening to Reba McEntire belt out a ballad. Their hearts were achy breaky for Billy Ray Cyrus, and they were sold on John Michael Montgomery. There was only one problem for the youth that had to listen to country music: it wasn’t cool.
Country music just didn’t fit in to the grunge craze of the ’90s. It was cooler to have holes in your jeans than it was to have a cowboy hat. The late ’90s pop craze didn’t help country either. Teenage pop sensations like Britney Spears caught the attention of teenagers who wanted catholic school girl skirts, not head-to-toe denim.
But long after Kurt Cobain died, and long after the Backstreet Boys recorded their last hit, a strange thing began to happen: country music and culture became cool.
It’s evident everywhere. Stars like Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban and Tim McGraw have become the new heartthrobs. Female acts like the Dixie Chicks are the new Spice Girls with a loyal following of young female fans. On TV, the sitcom Reba is a hit with mainstream audiences, and Country Music Television is one of the main music stations. One of last year’s most successful movies, Walk the Line, was about, you got it, a famous country star.
Country hasn’t simply gained popularity in Hollywood and Nashville. It has invaded our nation’s capital.
Take restaurants for example. One of the newest additions to the Byward Market is the soon-opening Lone Star Texas Grill, which already has three locations in Ottawa and promises to bring its “southern hospitality” to the market. Country culture is also popping up in Ottawa’s bars. The Great Canadian Cabin, located in the Byward Market, has a country night every Thursday. There is always a lineup to get in, and once inside it’s common to see cowboy hats and boots, and tons of post-secondary students, beer in hand, mouthing the words to every song.
Country concerts are also a hit in the Ottawa area. Last year’s performers included Terri Clark and Brad Paisley, and this year is no different. Corb Lund just performed at the new Capital Music Hall, and Dwight Yoakam and George Canyon are making appearances at smaller theatres in the coming months.
In one of the most anticipated concerts of the year, the Dixie Chicks are making a stop at Scotiabank Place, and tickets are already nearly sold out.
All these appearances of country culture aren’t an accident. They represent the popularity that country music has come to enjoy right here in the big cities of Ontario.
So don’t hide your love for country culture anymore, embrace it. Drive around with your car windows down and blare Gretchen Wilson without worrying about what people will say. Wear your cowboy boots to the mall without a second thought. And if someone does look at you a little funny, they probably aren’t judging you. They’re probably thinking about their very own pair in their closet at home.