Country Music is a blend of traditional music developed primarily in the Southeastern United States and the Maritime Provinces of Canada, but also in Europe as well as in Ireland or the North of the Netherlands. . Country evolved rapidly in the 1920s and is still very popular today. Different variations of the genre have also emerged in other countries such as Australia. Rhythmic or trailing, sentimental or moving, the country has its origins in folk music imported from Europe - particularly Celtic - as well as in the Christian musical tradition that meets the influence of the gospel style of American blacks. It is therefore a style of music whose origins are multiple and deeply intertwined, able to cohabit yodel singing (from a small Swiss German Appalachian community) with instruments as different as the Italian mandolin, the Hawaiian lap-steel or the African banjo, which borrows from genres like Cajun music, polka or blues. It happens that we talk about the country as the "white blues", although it began as a music shared by black and white musicians at a time when blues and country records (or hillbilly ) were not radically different: they were music that shared the social, family and religious values of the little people. Subsequently, as well as blues and rhythm and blues black, the country has largely influenced contemporary popular music, including rock. Country music, which has millions of fans around the world, but especially in the United States, Canada and Australia, is also enjoying a certain popularity in Europe, particularly in Ireland, the Scandinavian countries and Germany. Many music and dance festivals are held around the world. The city of Nashville, Tennessee, is the symbolic heart of country music. It owes its nickname "Music-City" to the large number of recording studios and the quality of its musicians. The Grand Ole Opry scene in Nashville> is still the pinnacle of a career for country artists.
