The rising indigo country scene is an exciting genre in country music today. Indigo has old country tones and traditional folk worker-man tones. Indigo is truly a window opened back to the roots of country music.
It’s actually quite interesting. Folk music has become a tucked-away-niche, hidden from today’s pop culture behind the curtains of history. This “new” country sound is actually not that new at all. It’s just a step from country music towards its roots.
Some of the leading artists in my introduction to this genre were Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers, and Ian Munsik.
The term was originally coined by Spotify when they created an editor-curated playlist called “Indigo.” Spotify describes indigo as “anything from commercially successful superstars like Kacey Musgraves and Chris Stapleton, to risk-takers defining success in the streaming era like Tyler Childers and Margo Price, or rising stars like Yola or Orville Peck or Hailey Whitters. You’ll also see names like Miranda Lambert and Tanya Tucker, mainstream legends whose songwriting harkens back to the genre’s roots.”
Saving country music, a news site dedicated to country music content, reached out to Spotify about why they used the word indigo to describe this scene in country music.
Spotify said, “The name Indigo takes inspiration from two county staples, the first being the color used to dye blue jeans, a classic American look you’ll often find country artists rocking. The second refers to the term indigo child, a way to describe someone with extraordinary talent who plays by their own rules, similar to the modern country songs on the playlist that push boundaries of the genre while still incorporating traditions of the past.”
This may sound fairly familiar to how some of the classic country lovers may describe the good stuff from back then. Country music hasn’t always been country music. Country was previously a branch of folk. Much of folk music in the United States was sung by the working class from different heritages. Altogether, this branch was called American folk.
I 10/10 recommend checking out this indigo country scene.
