I don’t think that Josh Beer, or anyone else for that matter, would have a problem with his music being called authentic modern country, rather than any of the alt- and -post subgenres that seem so popular these days. His voice is unmisstakably of that style, there is just a hint of a southern twang and “Days Like These” is a song brimming with all of the hallmarks that the country music sound holds dear – chiming acoustic guitars, melliluous washes of steel pedal, grooves so vibrant that you can almost hear the boot heels clicking along the dancing line.
So, it might come as a shock to find that his home country is actually the UK and the south that he hails from is actually Devon. But surely that just reminds us of what a small place the world is now, especially when it comes to the spread of influence and art, and music, perhaps more than any other creative form, is at its most interesting as cultures collide and geographies and genres find themselves borderless.
Why shouldn’t the next biggest star of country music turn out to be a West Country boy? “Days Like These” will undoubtedly be a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and ironically for exactly the same reason. In the US, few will believe he hasn’t learned his chops and earned his stripes playing every truck stop and bar, hoedown and cookout south of the Mason-Dixon line. In the UK, few would guess that Josh Beer and the band aren’t just touring abroad, putting in the hours whilst they wait for their big breakout moment at The Grand Ole Opry!
Though of course, that could be on their cards anyway, no matter which south they call home.
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