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{{Short description|Punk rock subgenre and music scene}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Cowpunk
| image             = Social-Distortion Cologne.jpg
| caption           = [[Social Distortion]] performing in Germany, 2005
| stylistic_origins = {{flatlist|
*[[Punk rock]]<ref name=NYT84/>
*[[New wave music|new wave]]<ref name=NYT84/>
*[[roots rock]]
*[[folk music|folk]]
*[[Country music|country]]<ref name="cooper"/>
*[[Honky tonk music|honky-tonk]]<ref name="cooper">{{cite web |last1=Cooper |first1=Ryan |title=The Subgenres of Punk Rock |url=https://www.liveabout.com/subgenres-of-punk-rock-2803348 |website=liveabout.com |access-date=21 January 2021 |date=9 May 2019}}</ref>
*[[country rock]]
}}
| cultural_origins  = Late 1970s, United Kingdom<br />Early 1980s, Southern California
| derivatives       = [[Alternative country]]
| subgenrelist      =
| fusiongenres      =
| regional_scenes   =
| local_scenes      =
| other_topics      = *[[Alt country]]
*[[folk punk]]
*[[garage rock]]
*[[psychobilly]]
*[[punk blues]]
*[[roots rock]]
*[[timeline of punk rock]]
}}

'''Cowpunk''' (or '''country punk''') is a subgenre of [[punk rock]] that began in the United Kingdom and [[Southern California]] in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It combines punk rock or [[New wave music|new wave]] with [[country music|country]], [[folk music|folk]], and [[blues]] in its sound, lyrical subject matter, attitude, and style.<ref name=NYT84>{{Cite news|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|last=Palmer|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Palmer (American writer)|page=H23|title=Young Bands Make Country Music for the MTV Generation|date=10 June 1984|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/10/arts/young-bands-make-country-music-for-the-mtv-generation.html}}</ref><ref>Gerald Haslam, ''Workin' Man Blues: Country Music in California'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999)</ref> Examples include [[Social Distortion]],<ref name="sunsent">{{cite news |title=Punk pioneers: Social Distortion performs in Miami Beach on Saturday |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/events/fl-xpm-2010-11-10-sfl-ent-to-do-social-distortion-111010-story.html |access-date=21 January 2021 |work=[[South Florida Sun Sentinel]] |date=10 November 2010}}</ref> [[the Gun Club]], [[the Long Ryders]], [[Dash Rip Rock]], [[Violent Femmes]], [[the Blasters]], [[Mojo Nixon]], [[Meat Puppets]], [[the Beat Farmers]], [[Rubber Rodeo]], [[Rank and File (band)|Rank and File]], and [[Jason and the Scorchers]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/cowpunk-ma0000012106 |title=Cowpunk |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=28 July 2020}}</ref> Many of the musicians in this scene subsequently became associated with [[alternative country]], [[roots rock]] or [[Americana (music)|Americana]].

==Etymology and characteristics==
The term "cowpunk" is first attested in 1979, as a blend of "cowboy" and "punk".<ref name="Crystal, David 2014, p. 228">{{Cite book |last=Crystal |first=David |title=Words in Time and Place: Exploring Language Through the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0199680474 |location=Oxford |page=228}}</ref> The term "country punk" has been proposed as an equivalent term.<ref name="Loudermilk">{{Cite web |last=Loudermilk |first=A |date=2018-06-04 |title=From Cowpunk to Sarah Shook |url=https://www.popmatters.com/sarah-shook-the-disarmers-2571125327.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1 |access-date=15 April 2020 |website=Pop matters}}</ref> Both terms are sometimes hyphenated, especially in late 1970s or early 1980s sources (e.g., cow-punk or country-punk).

In 1984, [[Robert Palmer (American writer)|Robert Palmer]] wrote in the ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' on the emerging aesthetic acknowledged "cowpunk" as one of several catch-all terms critics were using to categorize the [[Country music|country]]-influenced music of otherwise unrelated [[Punk rock|punk]] and [[New wave music|new wave]] bands. The article briefly summarized the music's history, at least in the United States, saying that in the early 1980s, several punk and new wave bands had begun collecting classic country records, and soon thereafter began performing high-tempo cover versions of their favorite songs, and that new bands had also formed around the idea. By 1984, there were dozens of bands in both the U.S. and England "personalizing country music and making it palatable for the [[MTV Generation]]."<ref name="Palmer">{{Cite news |last=Palmer |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Palmer (American writer) |date=1984-06-10 |title=Young Bands Make Country Music for the MTV |work=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/10/arts/young-bands-make-country-music-for-the-mtv-generation.html}}</ref>

A ''New York Times'' writer stated that one issue with the "cowpunk" term was that "...no single term really describes the music of all these bands."<ref name="Crystal, David 2014, p. 228" /> Another author called the term "cowpunk" a critic-coined "misnomer" in 1985.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Robbins |first=Ira A. |title=The Rolling Stone Review 1985 |date=1985 |publisher=Scribner's |isbn=978-0684183329}}</ref> A 2018 article looking back at the 1980s trends states that the "...diversity of styles beyond punk proper" in cowpunk, "...for some, made the category...suspect, [or] at least misleading."<ref name="Loudermilk" />

==History==
===Precursors===
The first cowpunk bands in the late 1970s "...were inspired not by mainstream country but classic country, a more authentic-sounding music but also historically distant enough to be non-mainstream by default..."<ref name="Loudermilk"/> There were precedents for blending country and related genres with rock or other styles. For example, all through the 1970s, [[country rock]] and [[southern rock]] were popular. However, by the early 1980s, the [[outlaw country]] trend had "worn out its welcome".<ref>McLeese, Don. ''Dwight Yoakam: A Thousand Miles from Nowhere''. University of Texas Press, 7 March 2012. p. 63</ref> Another factor that made country music unappealing to many youth in the early 1980s was that it was perceived as being on the "wrong side" in the "[[culture war]]", as country music was associated with [[conservative]] political values and highly-produced [[pop music|commercial music]].<ref name="McLeese, Don 2012. p. 63-64">McLeese, Don. ''Dwight Yoakam: A Thousand Miles from Nowhere''. University of Texas Press, 7 March 2012. p. 63-64</ref>

Don McLeese said the ways that youth associated country music made them not realize that it had youthful, exuberant "[[hillbilly music]]" roots in earlier eras.<ref name="McLeese, Don 2012. p. 63-64"/> Joey Camp says he was turned off country as a teen in the early 1980s because he mistakenly thought that the "...[[countrypolitan]] fare" then popular on commercial radio, such as "[[Islands in the Stream (song)|Islands in the Stream]]" by [[Kenny Rogers]] and [[Dolly Parton]], "[[Queen of Hearts (Hank DeVito song)|Queen of Hearts]]" by [[Juice Newton]], and "[[Always on My Mind]]" by [[Willie Nelson]]" was the extent of country music.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.50thirdand3rd.com/bolo-ties-beatle-boots-the-rise-and-legacy-of-cowpunk/ |title=Bolo Ties & Beatle Boots: The Rise and Legacy Of Cowpunk |last= Camp|first= Joey|date=7 February 2017 |website=www.50thirdand3rd.com |publisher=50 third and 3rd |access-date=20 April 2020 }}</ref>

Music writer [[Peter Doggett]] has stated that there has been a "difficult relationship between punk and country" since musicians from the two genres first encountered each other, but they did manage to meet and blend their styles.<ref name="ReferenceA">King, Ian. ''Appetite for Definition: An A-Z Guide to Rock Genres''. HarperCollins, 2018</ref> As well, some [[New wave music|new wave]] bands "displayed blatant country influences".<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Early cowpunk bands were more appealing to alternative, non-mainstream youth from the 1980s, as some cowpunk bands explored "[[queer]]" themes in their lyrics, or identified or appeared in an androgynous manner.<ref name="Loudermilk"/> By the early 1980s, punk audiences did come to appreciate a blend of punk and rockabilly, when the new subgenre of [[psychobilly]] emerged, with bands such as [[the Cramps]].

===1970s===
In 1978, [[Rosie Flores]] led Rosie and the Screamers, a band that one author calls a "cow-punk" group.<ref>Carlin, Richard. 
''Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary''. Routledge, 2014</ref> [[T. Tex Edwards]], the singer for Dallas area punk band [[the Nervebreakers]], which opened for the [[Ramones]] in 1977 and the [[Sex Pistols]] on their 1978 US Tour, went on to cowpunk and other country-influenced groups. After The Nervebreakers, influenced by [[the Cramps]] and [[Gun Club]] he started Tex & The Saddletramps.

===1980s===

[[File:X, 1980.jpg|thumb|right|200px| [[X (American band)|X]] in 1980]]

In the early 1980s, punk groups such as L.A. band [[X (American band)|X]],  "...began to lean toward the twangy side, providing a subgenre that became known as cowpunk".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/dwight-yoakam-onhttps://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/dwight-yoakam-on-his-early-cowpunk-years-in-los-angeles |title=Dwight Yoakam on His Early Cowpunk Years in Los Angeles |last=Tewksbury |first=Drew |date=6 August 2015 |website=www.kcet.org |publisher=KCET |access-date=14 April 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The L.A. cowpunk bands like X tended to be as intentionally sloppy, against "slick" production values, and anti-commercial as the punk genre they had "morphed" from, often from "blitzkrieg bands" (for example, [[the Dils]] became cowpunk band [[Rank and File (band)|Rank and File]]).<ref>McLeese, Don. ''Dwight Yoakam: A Thousand Miles from Nowhere''. University of Texas Press, 7 March 2012. p. 59</ref> In the 1980s, Rosie Flores left the Screamers and joined a cowpunk [[all-female band]] called [[Screamin' Sirens]].<ref>Gary Indiana, "Screamin' Sirens," Flipside, whole no. 49 (Summer 1986), pp. 18–19.</ref>

UK groups include the country-tinged pop band [[Boothill Foot Tappers]] and the tongue-in-cheek new wave outfit [[Yip Yip Coyote]].

There are a number of U.S. bands: [[X (American band)|X]], [[the Blasters]], [[Meat Puppets]], [[the Beat Farmers]],<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=THE BEAT FARMERS |url=https://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/beat-farmers/ |work=The San Diego Reader |location=San Diego, CA |date=<!--summary page; no date.--> |access-date=14 October 2019 }}</ref> [[Rubber Rodeo]] (which "juxtaposed countrypolitan elements and more conventional rock postures" in homage to "a pop-culture west rather than a geographic or historic one"), [[Rank and File (band)|Rank and File]] (playing "an updated version of 1960s country-rock"), [[Jason and the Scorchers]] (with "authentically deep country roots"), [[Tex & the Horseheads]], [[Blood on the Saddle]]<ref>Reynolds, Simon. ''Rip it Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984''. Faber & Faber, 2009. Ch. 24.</ref> 1984), [[Dash Rip Rock]], [[Drivin' n Cryin']],  [[Fetchin Bones]] (from North Carolina), [[the Rave-Ups]], [[Concrete Blonde]], [[Great Plains (Tennessee band)|Great Plains]] (from Ohio), and [[Violent Femmes]] (at that time incorporating "mountain banjo, wheezing saxophones, scraping fiddle, twanging jew's harp, and ragged vocal choruses").<ref name=NYT84/>

[[The Del-Lords]] formed in [[New York City]] in 1982,<ref name="time86">Cocks, Jay; L., Elizabeth. [https://web.archive.org/web/20121106093739/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961926-1,00.html Music: Where the Lifeline Is]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. 4 August 1986. Retrieved 9 November 2010</ref> founded by [[the Dictators]]' guitarist [[Scott Kempner]]. The band's cowpunk sound combined elements of 1960s [[garage rock]] with country, blues and folk influences. They were one of the early originators of urban roots-rock. The band members were Scott Kempner, Manny Caiati, [[Eric Ambel]] and [[Frank Funaro]].

[[Nine Pound Hammer]] is an American [[hardcore punk|hardcore]]-cowpunk band formed in 1985 by vocalist Scott Luallen and guitarist Blaine Cartwright in their hometown of [[Owensboro, Kentucky]]. They were one of the first rural hardcore punk bands to incorporate [[rural]] [[blue collar]] motifs into the hardcore sound. Their lyrics (suggestive of [[outlaw country]]) featured themes such as alcoholism, [[rural poverty]], and violence. In contrast, most of the urban, experimental cowpunk bands of 1970s/80s Los Angeles and the UK were [[roots rock]], [[folk rock]] or [[New wave music|New Wave]] bands, and they incorporated [[country music]] instruments and influences as a secondary (sometimes temporary) aspect of their sound.

In [[Social Distortion]]'s album ''[[Prison Bound]]'' (1986–1988), the band makes a notable style change, exploring a [[country music|country/western]] flavor . This record marks the start of the band's entrance into a cowpunk style. Country legend [[Johnny Cash]] and a [[honky tonk]] style became more prominent influences and there are references to Cash.

[[Lone Justice]] is a Los Angeles cowpunk band.<ref>Chrispell, James. "[https://www.allmusic.com/album/shelter-mw0000190713 "Shelter – Lone Justice"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318073411/http://www.allmusic.com/album/shelter-mw0000190713 |date=March 18, 2013 }}", [[AllMusic]], 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2014.</ref> ''[[Spin (magazine)|SPIN]]'' magazine also named [[Long Ryders]], [[Danny & Dusty]], and [[Mekons]] as from the genre.<ref name="Eddy, Chuck 2010">Eddy, Chuck. After thrashy nihilism flamed out, cowpunk  giddy-upped from the ashes. ''SPIN''. August 2010.</ref>

In Canada, prairies singer [[k.d. lang]] was called a "Canadian Cowpunk" in the 20 June 1985 issue of ''Rolling Stone''.<ref>Adria, Marco. ''Music of Our Times: Eight Canadian Singer-Songwriters''. James Lorimer & Company, 1990. p. 147</ref> In the late 1980s, Edmonton-based [[Jr. Gone Wild]] has been called a "[c]risp, cheerfully honest" example of ,"...that "cowpunk" thing, sure — but really it's just the sugary-yet-direct [[indie rock]] of its time, poppy and looking back more than a little at the [[Gram Parsons]] side of [[the Byrds]]."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/music/album-review-jr-gone-wilds-1988-brave-new-waves-session-happily-haunting |title= Album review: Jr. Gone Wild's 1988 Brave New Waves session happily haunting|last=Griwkowsky |first=Fish |date= 13 September 2017|website=edmontonjournal.com  |publisher=Edmonton Journal |access-date= 26 April 2020}}</ref>

In 1987, the [[independent film]] ''[[Border Radio]]'' was associated with the cowpunk scene. The film, which is directed by [[Allison Anders]], [[Dean Lent]] and [[Kurt Voss]], is about two musicians and a roadie who haven't been paid who rob money from a club and one of whom flees to [[Mexico]] leaving his wife and daughter behind.  It features music from [[the Flesh Eaters]], [[Green on Red]], [[John Doe (musician)|John Doe]], the [[Divine Horsemen]], [[X (American band)|X]], and [[the Blasters]].

Cowpunk made its mark on mainstream country radio for a brief period from 1987-1990 with the emergence of super-duo [[Foster & Lloyd]].  The video for their debut single [[Crazy Over You]] received extensive airplay on CMT.  The radio single peaked at #4 on Billboard and #1 on the now defunct Radio & Records chart.

By the late 1980s, high-end firms tried to capitalize on the cowpunk trend by selling expensive country western-themed merchandise. In 1989, ''The Washington Post'' reported that "...the biggest trend, especially at NM [Neimen-Marcus], is [[Madison Avenue]] cowpunk—costumes for trust-fund Cowboy Junkies ranging from hand-stenciled "Indian" deerskin jackets by [[Ralph Lauren]] for her ($2,200) to western-style yoke-front tuxedos ($1,975) that are the visual equivalent of a Lonesome Strangers song. There's a Busch commercial/"Young Riders" yellow duster in lambskin ($1,200) that quite outshines the honest canvas one from J. Peterman ($184)."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1989/10/06/the-mail-of-the-specious/ca3fb3af-c553-476a-9e86-b35475948892/ |title=The Mail of the Species |last=Zibart |first=Eve |date= 6 October 1989|newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=3 May 2020 }}</ref>

===1990s===
[[File:Nashville Pussy Closeup Photo.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Nashville Pussy]] incorporates cowpunk into their sound.]]

In 1990, ''SPIN'' magazine called [[the Dead Milkmen]] a cowpunk band, also noting that they have been called "scruff rock".<ref>SPIN magazine. June 1990. p. 25</ref> In 1991, a reviewer called [[the Vandals]] a cowpunk band, while noting that by this year, the band was moving away from cowpunk towards a mix of metal with a touch of pop.<ref>Popson, Tom. LOVICH REISSUED ON CD; VANDALS QUIT COW-PUNK. ''CHICAGO TRIBUNE''. 20 September 1991.</ref>

[[Dan Baird]] is an American singer-songwriter, musician and producer<ref name="LarkinHM">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Heavy Metal]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1995|edition=Second|isbn=0-85112-656-1|page=40}}</ref> best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist from the chart-topping 1980s rock band [[the Georgia Satellites]], who is often credited as one of the pioneers in cowpunk and [[Alternative country|alt-country]] music, as his songs combine elements of rock music, [[country music]], [[outlaw country]], and [[punk rock]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2maCDwAAQBAJ&q=cowpunk+georgia+satellite&pg=PT20|title=Waiting to Derail: Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown, Alt-Country's Brilliant Wreck|last=O'Keefe|first=Thomas|date=26 June 2018|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781510724945|language=en}}</ref>

[[Goober & the Peas]] were a cowpunk band from [[Detroit]], Michigan, active from 1990 to 1995, known for blending odd humor to a darker side of country music and indie rock (and for [[Jack White]] of [[the White Stripes]] having served as drummer for a period). The band was known for their frenetic live shows.

[[The Damn Band]] is the cowpunk-influenced backing band of [[Hank Williams III]]. It was formed in 1995 and consists of acoustic guitar (played by Williams), steel guitar, fiddle, bass, drums, electric guitar and banjo.

Steve Kidwiller, the former guitarist of [[punk rock]] band [[NOFX]] (on their 1989 and 1991 records) subsequently joined cowpunk band Speedbuggy USA.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rapid |first1=Stephen |title=Interview With Timbo Of Speedbuggy USA |url=https://www.lonesomehighway.com/interviewsold/tag/Interview+with+Timbo+of+Speedbuggy+USA |website=Lonesome Highway |date=5 September 2018 |access-date=6 April 2020}}</ref>  in 1994.

Following the breakup of [[Nine Pound Hammer]] in 1997, guitarist Blaine Cartwright formed [[Nashville Pussy]], a Grammy-Nominated American [[rock & roll]] band from [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] that has been called a mix of cowpunk, [[psychobilly]], [[Southern rock]], and [[hard rock]], as well as "sleaze rock".<ref>{{cite web|author=Nashville Pussy |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/nashville-pussy-mn0000316536 |title=Nashville Pussy &#124; Biography, Albums, Streaming Links |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=6 July 2019}}</ref>

The [[United States|American]] [[rock and roll]] [[band (music)|band]] [[Supersuckers]]' fourth studio album, ''[[Must've Been High]]'' (1997) was called their first cowpunk album.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=supersuckers|title=TrouserPress.com :: Supersuckers|website=www.trouserpress.com}}</ref> It was released on 25 March 1997, via [[Sub Pop]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.subpop.com/releases/the_supersuckers/mustve_been_high|title=Mustve Been High|first=Sub Pop|last=Records|website=Sub Pop Records}}</ref>

===2000s to present===
[[File:Vandoliers, 2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The [[Vandoliers]] in 2016]]
In the 2000s, [[Those Darlins]] were called a cowpunk act.<ref name="Eddy, Chuck 2010"/>

[[Black Stone Cherry]] were formed in 2001 by Chris Robertson and [[John Fred Young]], the son of Richard Young of the [[Kentucky Headhunters]]. Their unique musical style combines [[southern rock]] with [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] and [[grunge]].<ref>[https://www.allmusic.com/album/black-stone-cherry-mw0000569014 Black Stone Cherry review at allmusic]</ref>

[[Vandoliers]], a band formed in 2015 by Jenni Rose, following the dissolution of her Fort Worth-based punk trio The Phuss.<ref name="Steward 2017">{{cite web | last=Steward | first=Steve | title=The Vandoliers' Twangy Tales | website=[[Fort Worth Weekly]] | date=24 May 2017 | url=https://www.fwweekly.com/2017/05/24/the-vandoliers-twangy-tales/ | access-date=26 August 2017}}</ref><ref name="Rolling Stone 2017">{{cite magazine | title=10 New Country Artists You Need to Know: May 2017 | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | date=9 May 2017 | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/country/lists/10-new-country-artists-you-need-to-know-may-2017-w481172/vandoliers-w481178 | access-date=26 August 2017}}</ref> She met members from ''[[Marty Stuart|The Marty Stuart Show]]'' and learned more about the similarities between punk and country.<ref name="Grubbs 2017">{{cite web | last=Grubbs | first=Eric | title=Vandoliers Quickly Ascending With Nashville Manager, a New Album and a Full Tour Schedule | website=[[Dallas Observer]] | date=15 May 2017 | url=http://www.dallasobserver.com/music/are-vandoliers-dallas-next-major-country-music-export-9459608 | access-date=26 August 2017}}</ref> The band's album ''The Native'' is noted for ushering in a cowpunk resurgence.<ref name="Vice 2017">{{cite web | title=The Vandoliers Are Reenergizing Cowpunk One Album at a Time | website=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] | date=23 May 2017 | url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-vandoliers-are-reenergizing-cowpunk-one-album-at-a-time/ | access-date=26 August 2017}}</ref><ref name="No Depression 2017">{{cite web | title=Hear Vandoliers' Texas Cowpunk Anthem, 'Rolling Out' (Premiere) | website=[[No Depression (magazine)|No Depression]] | date=5 April 2017 | url=http://nodepression.com/article/hear-vandoliers-texas-cowpunk-anthem-rolling-out-premiere | access-date=26 August 2017}}</ref><ref name="McKenna 2017">{{cite magazine | last=McKenna | first=Brittney | title=See the Vandoliers' Poignant 'Endless Summer' Video | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=27 June 2017 | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/vandoliers-endless-summer-see-nostalgic-video-w489938 | access-date=26 August 2017}}</ref>

In the 2010s, both [[Bloodshot Records]] artists [[Lydia Loveless]] and [[Sarah Shook]]'s band were classified country-punk or cowpunk.

Other cowpunk groups of the 2000s and 2010s included [[Old Crow Medicine Show]], Brazilian [[Matanza (band)|Matanza]], [[Those Darlins]], [[the Waco Brothers]], [[7 Shot Screamers]], and [[Blackfoot (band)|Blackfoot]]. Danish [[psychobilly|hellbilly]] group [[Volbeat]] specialise in [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] infused covers of classic country songs.

==Fashion and aesthetic==
[[File:ThoseDarlins.jpg|thumb|Cowpunk artists [[Those Darlins]]]]
The cowpunk clothing style is a stereotypical [[Rural areas in the United States|U.S. rural]], [[working class]], [[western wear]] form of dress. Cowpunks may wear anything from a vintage [[western wear]] look, including [[checked shirt]]s, bib [[overalls]], [[Stone washing|worn jeans]], and [[cowboy boot]]s, to a more industrial look with [[Wifebeater (shirt)|wifebeater shirts]], [[trucker hat]]s, and [[work boot]]s. Women's hair follows no single style, but men can have anything from a [[crew cut]] to long hair, or the exaggerated [[quiff]] pompadour hairstyle. Facial hair is also common.<ref name="apparelsearch">{{cite web |title=Cowpunk Fashion Influence |url=https://www.apparelsearch.com/terms/p/punk-categories/cowpunk_fashion.html |publisher=Apparel Search Fashion Guide |access-date=2022-04-22}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Alternative country]]
*[[Outlaw country]]
*[[Psychobilly]]
*[[Punk blues]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Einarson, John. ''Desperados: The Roots of Country Rock''. New York: Cooper Square Press, 2001
* Haslam, Gerald W. ''Workin' Man Blues: Country Music in California''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999
* Wolff, Kurt. ''The Rough Guide to Country Music''. London: Rough Guides, 2000.
* Hinton, Brian. ''"South By South West: A Road Map To Alternative Country"'' Sanctuary 2003

==Further reading==
* [https://theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/feb/03/making-a-scene-alt-country-cowpunk-country-rock-americana-who-cares Making a scene: alt-country, cowpunk, country rock and Americana make a mark in the UK ]

{{punk}}
{{Country music}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cowpunk| ]]
[[Category:Punk rock genres]]
[[Category:Country music genres]]
[[Category:Fusion music genres]]
[[Category:British styles of music]]
[[Category:British subcultures]]
[[Category:Subcultures in the United States]]