“Categories Are Bleeding Together, And People Are Just Listening To Music”

For his senior thesis, Drew traced the origins of west Texas country music and combined his research with his own talents as a singer in a unique thesis presentation on April 22. Drew performed the songs of writers from the late 1920’s to the present as well as two of his own songs. He also discussed the difference between the highly formulaic Nashville sound and the more independent character of west Texas country music. Drew plans to pursue a career as a singer and songwriter.

Take into account that this is from a guy who was going to college in Hanover, PA at the time.

As a special encore at the end of his set, Dierks brought up all the Pub Crawl performers — as well as surprise musical guests Troy Gentry (of Montgomery Gentry) Mark Collie and Muzik Mafia’s Two Foot Fred — to deliver an unforgettable version of the Johnny Cash classic “Folsom Prison Blues.”

Do you consider that and the albums you’ve done since then to be country music? Do you still consider yourself a country singer?
Even though I had folk roots, I started as a country artist. I had that very, very pivotal experience of working with Gram [Parsons, previously of the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Byrds, who was Harris's mentor and collaborator prior to his death in 1971(1973)]. He set me on that path, of finding my voice, and giving me a sense of structure. And that was the path that I followed–we could zig and zag, but we always had a center, and that center was coming from country. And I got success on country charts, and when they put my albums in the music store, I would be put in that category. But I think more and more, the categories are bleeding together, and people are just listening to music. [emphasis added by me]