We know D.C. Get our free newsletter to stay in the know.
Who knows how you got here, but you’d better make the best of it. You’ve been walking down a dusty road for days, and you’ll be damned if you don’t get a drink soon. You’ve got to make the right impression as you walk into the bar—-you don’t want to come off too soft or too strange. Hank Williams may be classic, but you don’t want to seem out-of-touch. Here are a couple songs for the cowpunk in you.
Perhaps the first band to ever get tagged “alt.country,” Uncle Tupelo combines the best outlaw country lyricism with a drunken punk rock energy and execution. You might listen to Wilco or Son Volt now, but rewind to before Farrar and Tweedy split; “Graveyard Shift” ought to make for a great entrance.
For a more Gothic approach, Murder By Death has you covered. Tackling the darker archetypes of the West, the band pulls from country and rockabilly as much as they draw on The Misfits. They’ve got a punk rock spirit imbued with a supernatural fixation on the Devil. Let “Brother” introduce you to the locals, and you’ll make a heavy impression.
Here in D.C., The Moderate has its own angry Americana to share. The group courts the down-and-out with its rock & roll. Head over to the Black Cat on Friday to grab a few too many beers and enjoy some twang-laden tunes.