If country music were removed from the top of my list of favorite things, weather would immediately move into first place. I’ve always been fascinated by weather—especially severe weather. In fact, chasing tornadoes in the Midwest is on my bucket list.
Earlier tonight, I was watching the local evening weather report. There wasn’t anything especially exciting in the forecast. Central Florida was expected to have below-average chances of rain and the usual summertime thunderstorms.
But the forecast did give me something exciting to think about. It gave me the idea for this week’s Essie Country Notes.
So, courtesy of tonight’s weather report, here are my thoughts about weather reports and country music.
Today’s weather reports have come a long way. With sophisticated Doppler radar, remarkable satellite imagery, and colorful computer graphics, the weather forecast has become quite a production.
But take away the fancy graphics and technical wizardry, and you still have the weather report. You still get today’s weather facts and tomorrow’s predicted weather stats. The same can’t be said for today’s mainstream country music.
Most of today’s mainstream country music has every modern production technique and high-tech sound that money can buy. It’s designed to appeal to millions of Gen Z listeners, who spend a great deal of money on music, rather than to fans of traditional country music.
Somewhere along the way, Nashville and the country music industry decided that modern production methods and a pop sound should be applied to country music. That decision swept across the country music landscape like a hurricane crossing the Florida peninsula. It wasn’t good—at least not for fans of traditional country music.
Take away the steel guitar, the fiddle, the country vocals, and the traditional country sound, and all that’s left is a polished production that may be made for prime time—but not for real country music.
Modern technology and creative production methods are wonderful for weather reporting—not so much for country music. Fortunately, Essie Country is a safe harbor for those weathering the storm of pop country.
So what’s in the forecast for Essie Country? Clear visibility, zero chance of pop country, and a 100% chance of Essie Country giving you the opportunity to hear the best real country music of the 21st century
