International Country Music Day 2023: Indian country music fans, musicians on why they enjoy the genre

Growing up in Dehradun, Delhi-based Winston Balman was surrounded by country music right from the early days, along with other music that came up around him, starting with his family. as he had access to his father and uncle's large cassette collection that included some of the good ol' country classics from the 60s, 70s and 80s. "I grew up in Dehradun, which has a lot of Anglo Indians, and we were exposed to a lot of different kinds of music. I was very lucky to have my dad's and uncle's cassette collection, which had a lot of country music from the 60s, 70s and 80s." Since his mother and father were both working, Balman used to spend a lot of time with the cassettes and keenly took an affinity towards country music and rock. Today, the Anglo Indian is one of the few country musicians in India, to regularly sing and play.

Every year, the world observes International Country Music Day on September 17 to celebrate country music. The genre has been popularly known to have originated from the Southern and Southwestern United States of America and particularly categorised in the 1920s. However, over the years, the music genre has transcended boundaries and even travelled all the way to India. While the country already boasts of so many genres, there are many who enjoy listening and playing country music too. Then there are those like, who not play but also write songs in the genre and have picked it up as their career. Apart from Dehradun-based Bobby Cash and Bengaluru-based Sheridan Brass and a few others from Shillong, Balman is only one of them. Incidentally, he also happens to hail from the region that also boasts of Cash, one of the earliest Indian country musicians to make the genre popular in the country.

Playing country music in India
In fact, the Delhi musician had the privilege of growing up around Cash in his younger days and was immediately thoroughly impressed. He shares, "After meeting Cash, I thought to myself, ‘It is okay to be an oddball and do something that is different and I enjoy doing'. I started listening to a lot of country acts and hung around with him a lot." In 2015, he even started his own band called Winston Balman and the Prophets of Rock. "I love being in the country music space for over 10 years. A lot of people think country music is easy, but it is not easy. There are a lot of nuances to it - the musical influences and language are very different compared to other music. It became better for me as an adult because I realised I was able to be a little more vocal about my emotions and feelings with this genre. I was definitely more connected," he adds. Some of his most popular influences were the likes of Alan Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Chris Stapleton and Blake Shelton too.

While personally he was in a happy place, it is always a challenge when making music your career, and that too with a genre like country music, when there is so much else happening in India right now. Balman said even his friends had their doubts when he started off. He explains, "Initially, among my friends, many people said, ‘Who is going to listen to English songs? There is no audience for this stuff and people don't want to listen to it'. Maybe, they are right, it is not a genre enjoyed by the masses because it is still niche. If it's not mass, then okay, but it might not be niche for long." Apart from covers, Balman, who released an EP ‘Marijuana Highway' in 2019, has only gone upwards as he also released singles ‘Sense of It All' (2020), ‘Singing Star' (2021) and ‘Fight On' (2022), and that is been because of one reason only. "I have discovered in the process that Indian people are very emotional, and they love stories. They don't care whether they listen to stories in Tibetan, Nepali or any other language. As long as you get the emotion right, and they identify with you, they are hooked," he points out.

It is this love for stories that inspires him to not only play but also make people aware about the genre. He explains, "Whenever I play, I tell them the story and give them a little bit of perspective and with every suggestion and hint, and emotional sway I do on stage, they get it. The good part is that a lot of Indians speak English. Many times, people don't realise I am playing country music, they only identify it as English music." So, he goes on to inform them about how they are actually listening to country music, and that they have listened to songs from the genre before but just that nobody has classified it for them. "Then I sing ‘100 miles' and bring in ‘Jab Koi Baat Bigad Jaaye' and they are surprised. That's just a trick I use to get more people interested," he adds.

Having played for more than 10 years, he has observed that Northeast India accepts country music in more than one way. In fact, the region even has a couple of bands that also play music from the genre. Elsewhere, unlike a common stereotype of the kind of music people in Delhi listen to, he says, there is an audience that enjoys country music and will even sit near you and listen to you before they party the night away. Interestingly, even though he hasn't performed much in Mumbai, he has a very special experience here. "I haven't been able to play too much in Mumbai but whenever I go to a karaoke bar and sing any popular or old school country song, it just fascinates me how people just gravitate towards the music. I remember walking into this really nice restaurant, Soul Fry in Bandra. I ended up singing 'Tennessee Whiskey' and the owner of the establishment took a video of me. There were at least four or five people fighting to take me to their house," he laughs.

Fanning the country music flame in Mumbai

Such is the popularity of country music in Mumbai, which has its fair share of an audience - both young and old, who enjoy its various sub genres including country rock, which Balman dabbles in. Even though city-based adman Subhash Kamath considers himself more of a blues, rock & roll and a classic rock kind of listener, he does listen to a bit of country music. He shares, "Growing up, I did listen to Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams and perhaps some music by Kenny Rogers."

For Kamath, who is also a city-based musician with his band ‘Wanted Yesterday', a lot of his western music has been the blues and jazz with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan being his perennial favourites but in there is a deep love for country music too and has always loved listening to American folk and rock singer-songwriter, Jim Croce. "I still listen to him a lot. Tragically he died in a plane crash after making just a few albums," shares Kamath, continuing, "In fact, I made sure I visited the bar ‘Croce's', which is run by his wife in San Diego, in his memory, many years ago and had a lovely evening there."

While he does not have pictures from the day due to changing phones, it is a day that is forever etched in his memory and one that he will continue to cherish forever, with his favourite song being ‘Lover's Cross'. When it comes to other musicians, the Mumbai musician says 'Walk The Line' and 'Folsom Prison Blues' by Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson's original version of ‘Me & Bobby McGee' are his all-time favourites.

Just like Kamath, Bhayandar-based Savio D'Souza has been a country music fan for over four decades now. He narrates, "I started listening to country music when I was in my early twenties when I used to work in Kuwait. On our days off from work, my roommate used to play these songs. So that's how I fell in love and became a fan. I used to and still like to listen to songs with meaningful lyrics. When you listen to country music songs, you can literally feel what the singer is singing in his song -- whether it is about love, romance, heartbreaks, loneliness, friendship and family, you can really feel it deep down. It touches your heart and soul."

Amid his busy schedule right now, the 64-year-old says if he can't listen to country music during the week, he makes sure to listen to his favourite songs at least on Sundays. "I listen to it when we get back from church and are having breakfast. Even during the Christmas days, I enjoy listening to country Christmas music," he adds.

Just like Balman says, D'Souza says there is a country music song for every situation in your life. So, what is it that he likes most about the genre more than other genres? He shares, "The fact that the lyrics are so simple yet so heartfelt -- like each country song has a story that will surely touch your heart. I think there is a country song for every situation of your life, which will make you overcome that phase or enjoy it, and it totally depends on what that phase or situation in your life is. I believe that is what makes it very unique." While D'Souza isn't aware of any Indian country music musicians, some of his favourites are Randy Travis, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson and Tim McGraw and he is quick to say, "Kenny Rogers is my absolute favourite".

Elsewhere in Mumbai, Bosco D'sa from Parel, like Balman, was also introduced to country music by his father back in the day. He shares, "I fell in love with country music because my father used to keep playing it at home while I was growing up." Today, he listens to it whenever he can and enjoys every minute of it. Ever since he started listening to it in his teens, the 64-year-old Mumbaikar has connected with lyrics and melodies by Don Williams, Randy Travis and Garth Brooks, among others. "The soothing tunes, meaningful lyrics and the fact that it puts one at ease is what makes it unique as compared to other genres," he adds. An aspect of the music that Balman has picked up, and is trying to make more Indians aware about the genre by telling them a story one country music song at a time with a touch of rock. "It is just like the old saying that country music is just 'Three chords and the truth'," he concludes.