In the late '60s and into the '70s, there was a sea change in the world of country music. Rather than drawing from the glut of radio-ready folk and country that dominated the airwaves, a new class of country singers came up through the ranks, bringing with them a more progressive world-view and a more idiosyncratic sound. People like Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson would become the face of progressive country, lending a more personal sound to a genre that had grown complacent with cookie-cutter artists that were as interchangeable as they were popular. Eventually, this scene would spawn even more disparate artists and influences, creating the slippery genre known as alt-country.

At the forefront of this developing genre was Joe Ely, whose immersion into the scene was through the most circuitous of routes.

Read Rev. Adam McKinney's interview with Joe Ely in the Music & Culture section.

SOUTHERN TROUBADOURS IN THE ROUND, w/Joe Ely, Ruthie Foster, Paul Thorn, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 14, Pantages Theater, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, $19-$69, 253.591.5890