A new generation of songwriters in their 20s and early 30s is reviving alt-country, the twangy, earnest subgenre that emerged from US punk scenes in the late 1980s and 90s. Acts such as Waxahatchee, Wednesday and MJ Lenderman in the US, and Brown Horse and Little Grandad in the UK, are drawing on the genre's roots without directly imitating it, prompting talk of a fresh transatlantic "moment" for the sound, even as some of its own artists warn it may be short-lived.

Alt-country originated with former punk bands like Uncle Tupelo and the Bottle Rockets, who added fiddles, banjos and acoustic guitars to their sound. Today's crop, including Florry, Ratboys, Vegas Water Taxi and Westside Cowboy, discovered the genre independently rather than through family listening habits, often citing figures such as the late Jason Molina as touchstones. The trend converged in London recently, with Brown Horse fronting a Molina tribute night, Wilco playing a show supported by alt-country act Hovvdy, and Vermont musician Greg Freeman selling out two club dates in the same week.