A Guide to the Best Alt-Country Songs of 2026 so far
Our picks of the best of the year… so far.
Alt-country has made one hell of a comeback over the past twelve months. Essentially country music with an indie/alternative twist, it’s easy to feel like it’s landed out of nowhere as the likes of MJ Lenderman and Wednesday have brought the genre back into focus.
The sub-genre has been around in many different guises for decades now. From as early as when The Byrds teamed up with Gram Parsons for the 1968 classic Sweetheart of the Rodeo album to the quintessential self-titled Lucinda Williams record from 1988 with a bit of Emmylou Harris and Neil Young in the two decades between.
It was Chicago’s Uncle Tupelo in the early ‘90s that really transformed the genre. They brought a furious energy and dirty guitars before lead singer Jay Farrar went on to write one of the genre’s all-time great albums, Trace, with his next band, Son Volt. Meanwhile, the band’s scrawny guitarist, Jeff Tweedy, went on to form indie giants Wilco.
Whilst their seminal record Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is an experimental indie rock masterpiece, the band’s first two records, AM and Being There, fly the alt-country flag and are packed with exciting and energising anthems.
Drive-By Truckers then redefined the genre in the early noughties with buzzsaw guitars, frenetic energy and a real focus on traditional story-driven songs. At the time, the band were armed with an unstoppable trifecta of songwriters: Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and Jason Isbell. There isn’t a band on the list that isn’t indebted to the truckers in some way.
That whistle-stop tour brings us to 2026, the year when the genre is probably at its all-time peak after a few years in the wilderness. Here are ten of the best alt-country songs of the year so far:
Ovven — Thermal Fuse
Thermal Fuse is an absolute explosion. I can’t help but get uncontrollably amped whenever I hear this song. It is a fuzz-guitar, alt-country tour-de-force and it shows us right off the bat that Ovven is not messing around. Leaning deep into the noisier, distorted side of alt-country, it’s as good an entry point to the genre as any this year.
Fantastic Cat — Donnie Takes The Bus
Donnie Takes The Bus has some of the same Jagger Swagger of songs like Brown Sugar and Satisfaction, but it is dripping in the American cosmic country spirit that permeates deep within other Stones songs like Sweet Virginia and Dead Flowers. It has buckets of confidence and rock ‘n’ roll spirit. Fantastic Cat sound like they are having a party. Thankfully, we’re all invited.
Westside Cowboy — In The Morning
Westside Cowboy are far more reminiscent of the frenetic garage punk energy of early Uncle Tupelo than anything else on this list. Their guitars buzz with a manic frenzy and the drums sound like they are literally about to explode at any given moment. In the Morning, however, is the sound of them gathering around a single mic and stripping it all back to write a classic country song. When I first heard it, I was convinced it was a cover of a traditional country staple.
Ratboys — Penny In The Lake
Ratboys’ latest record Singin’ to an Empty Chair is an instant classic. The indie rock band are known for occasionally dipping their toes into alt-country, and single Penny In The Lake is probably their best go at it yet. It is a breezy, optimistic and jaunty song that would fit right in place on Neil Young’s Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere. The guitars swirl in all the right directions and, as with the rest of the record, it really is the sound of the band at the absolute top of their game.
Brown Horse — Twisters
Brown Horse are so much more than just the UK’s answer to alt-country music. They are simply one of the leading alt-country bands on either side of the pond, period. Lead single Twisters, from their brilliant new album Total Dive, is a whirlwind cacophony of noise with a hurricane of weaving guitar lines. It has a massive chorus, and its lush harmonies are as infectious as the music is furious.
This Is Lorelei & MJ Lenderman — Dancing In The Club
Technically, this song was released last year, but it was rereleased in 2026 and is simply just too good not to count. Dancing In The Club tells a story that is just pathetic enough to relate to, and yet honest enough to yearn for. Nate Amos has a fantastic knack for writing country songs, uncountryfying them completely and then spitting them out the other end as indie pop anthems. Add MJ Lenderman to the mix, and it really is impossible to resist.
Tracey Nelson — Hercules
Speaking of MJ Lenderman, his influence on the current alt-country scene is nothing short of seismic. Take Tracey Nelson, for example; his upcoming batch of songs has Lenderman and his band all over them. Rather than sounding derivative, Hercules in particular sounds spirited and organic. If it sounds like a group of friends simply having fun playing in the studio, then that’s probably because that’s exactly what it is.
Rosali — Other Side
Rosali has dropped her latest single, and it’s an absolute blast. Other Side is a brawling, barnstorming party all contained in two and a half jam-packed minutes. Like Fantastic Cat, it’s another one that you simply can’t not imagine a younger Mick Jagger having a crack at. It is loose and ramshackle — and all the better for it.
Courtney Marie Andrews — Little Picture of a Butterfly
Leaning more into the Americana side of alt-country, Courtney Marie Andrews is an absolute institution at this point. Her six studio albums are all consistently excellent, and her songwriting is sophisticated and classic in all of the best ways. Little Picture of a Butterfly feels new, exciting and fresh. It is loose and poetic and weaves in and out with an elegant ease. To top it all off, it closes out with a jazz-inspired flute solo performed by Andrews herself.
Mikaela Davis — (Looking Through) Rose Colored Glasses
A classic slice of fun-loving country that is much more in the style of Chappell Roan’s country-cosplaying single The Giver. Rose Coloured Glasses is tons of fun but, more importantly, it is utterly and endlessly infectious. It has a chorus that will never leave your head and is a far sweeter slice of country pop than anything else on this list.
