Country Carpetbagger: A Northern Take on a Southern Sound

The soundtrack of the South is beautiful, authentic, and spiritual: a reflection of the raw emotions of the human condition and the trials and tribulations in mundane lives. Lyrics read as poetry, and crooning artists seem to reach out of speakers to tug on our heartstrings, literally inducing a physical reaction of chills. Authentic Country Music, called many names, is much more than the Nashville Sound and its pop allegiance. It is an artistic representation of our collective lives and an art form in itself. And for so long it has been forgotten in mainstream media. 

Country music needs good journalism. There is a growing movement in songwriting and instrumentals within Americana, Bluegrass, Folk and Indie Music, a return to classic and authentic songs, that needs an equally captivating journalistic source to grow along with it. Something that is introspective and not just giving lists of songs, something evergreen that could be a literary piece of its own. 

There are enough articles ranking the best songs or telling readers when big artists are going to drop their next albums. But there are no stories of the minds behind the songs we so passionately love, no explorations of the lives they write about, and no deeper analysis of the genre of the whole. For how deep and beautiful these songs are, there is no literature surrounding and supporting them. 

News sources that report on this genre are either too broad, too narrowly focused on the wrong side of the industry, or care too much about the bottom line. Poorly designed layouts ruin the readership experience, and readers feel gross engaging in content interspersed with a random assortment of advertisements. So we are making this pledge now: you will never find unintentional and lazy banner advertisements here. Your experience will always be pure and the emphasis will always be on the pieces. 

I am not the right person to write for this movement. I am sitting in a Harvard library, overlooking the sprawling Boston metropolis and thinking that it pales in comparison to my homeland in New York City. I have no personal connection to the South and its music, and probably never will. I am just a passionate fan, who, after searching for content and trying to write my own pieces, have concluded that there is a gaping void. I couldn’t sit idly by, and after months of telling my friends, decided to fill it. I hope you don’t criticize me much for my background. 

Hence the name “Country Carpetbagger.” Though it may not roll smoothly off the tongue, it is a perfect description of where I am coming from and my intentions. During the Reconstruction period following the Civil War, opportunistic Northern politicians came South, hoping to be elected in an unstable political landscape where many southerners had lost the right to vote due to their allegiance to the Confederacy. These politicians were pejoratively called “Carpetbaggers'' for carrying their possessions in cheap luggage called “Carpet Bags.” Over time, these politicians were either integrated into the political landscape, or forced to go home. 

As a northerner writing on a uniquely American and southern sound, my fate will be just like the Carpetbaggers. This publication will either be integrated into the world of Country Music as an authentic journalistic source, or teased for its poor reporting on a life it knows nothing about. Personally, I root for the former. But ultimately, it is up to you to decide, and I hope you stick around for this exciting journey. If you have any questions, criticisms, or concerns, feel free to reach out at countrycarpetbagger@gmail.com. I promise to always respond.