There is a little bit of the "This is not your Grandpaw's country' going on. Each generation rebels against what was just there. You have to keep in mind that what is going on right now are not just the artists and writers. It is the producers, the musicians, the label exectutives, managers, etc. Those people are coming over from rock and pop. So the sounds,production, layers, instrumentation, etc. are going to be from that.
And again, we are getting more URBAN (city) oriented in the lyrics, the messages, as well as the music. The audience as well. They live more in the cities and are more likely to go to a dance club than anything else.
Here is the real eye opener for you guys. you should all visit a local country dance club on a Friday or Saturday night. Listen to the music programming. And watch the dance floor. There will be the usual top 20 country artists. Then they will kick into AC/DC's HIGHWAY TO HELL. Then there will be some pop/rock stuff, something from the 80's and then back to the newer stuff. A "belly rubber' dance song about every seventh or eigth song. But what strikes me as interesting as how varied the music is.
Od, the "George Jones"/Johnny Cash" phenomenon is still there.They get played a lot too. But if you think about if George was just starting out now, I don't think his music would work. It would be the hated "D" word, "DATED."
Phil, it is hard for me to describe what makes something sound DATED without hearing it. A lot of it has to do with the performance. As Kevin noted, some of the Chesney, might come off Americana with another artist,but with him it works. If Kevin did the same thing it might come off like Mr.Rodgers and Captain Kangaroo doing a Disco version of a Hopalong Cassidy song. (Sorry, just wanted to see how many weird references I could get in one sentence.) But it is very much in the person bringing it.
Strange business. My suggestion is not to play.
M