Over the last couple of years, there has lively discussion between diehard and progressive country music fans trying to define what country music is nowadays. We have seen a lot of debate over the appearance of pop/rock acts on country music festival bills and country artists foresaking their roots to gain top 40 exposure.

We have travelled a fair few miles over the years all the way from the suburbs of Melbourne to remote rural communities in Central Australia.

It seems that the further we head out, the more eclectic people are when it comes to what music they listen to.

We see more die-hards country music fans amongst our city friends. They show up to a venue, dressed up and looking the part with the boots, the hats and spend the night enjoying themselves dancing to the music they love. Try adding a classic rock tune to the mix and you will be met with disdain from the audience. "That's not country!" is the response you will get. Fair enough!

But as we go further "up bush", the opposite seems to happen. They love their country music no problems there, but throw in a classic rock tune in the mix and the crowd loves it. Herein lies the difference between our friends in the city and our friends in the bush.

Let's face it.. Country Music in the capital cities gets a really rough deal. The stereotyping of the genre as "hick" makes it pretty un-cool. I wish we had a dollar for every time we heard the usual quotes like "you play two kinds of music country AND western".. Bloody Blues Brothers!!!

So its perfectly understandable for urban country music fans to be protective about the music they love. Community radio stations and CMC are the only regular outlets for country music. You don't hear it on commercial radio and TV very much at all. So why should Guy Sebastian appear at Tamworth? People can hear and see him anywhere. Why invade "our" festivals? Its a perfectly understandable question. Shouldn't a country music festival be an enclave? A safe haven for country music fans to listen to the music they love?? Its a fair question.

As we travel further out of town, what we see is a different attitude. We've played to a very wide age group ranging from little kids to 90 year olds. Oh they love their country music. You'll get requests from everything from Slim to Keith Urban. It is not unusual for folks to want Alan Jackson and Lee Kernaghan and then Creedence and Cold Chisel the next!

Why is this so? Put simply, Country Music is still entrenched amongst rural communties but its not the be all and end all. In the last 20 years or so, living in the country has become less isolated. Tune into a country commercial radio station and you will get a mix of local programming which plays Adam Brand and Lady GaGa and then a syndicated feed of Hamish and Andy. The ABC also plays a mix of Australian music styles too through it regional radio and JJJ networks.

TV stations are networked, CMC, MTV, Channel V are on pay-TV. That means country people get to see what their city cousins see. Whether that is progress or not is another topic for discussion.

Then there is the demographic shifts to regional cities that have turned them into mini cosmopolitan centres as regional centres grow. Living in the country is no longer just about being a farmer so the music country people write is also changing with the time.

So when it comes to music, people in the country have access to a much broader range of genres and are more open to different styles. Play at a country gig and "Outback Club" is just as popular as "Summer of '69". Try doing that at a suburban pub or a country music gig in Melbourne!!! Neither the twain shall meet.

To urban folks, country music is defined as a genre that has its niche that is pigeon holed next to other genres. Fans protect and defend it to the hilt while the rest of the population dismiss it is as hick.

To rural fans, country music is defined as "music that people in the country listen to" and while it includes the actual genre and hold pride of place on peoples CD racks and i-pods, it co-exists with a lot of other stuff too.

As musicians who play country music, we have to be mindful of the way people listen to the genre nowadays. Gone are the days when you can have the same set list and take it on the road everywhere. Some folk want it to be "all country" while others want to hear a bit of classic rock thrown in. For a country-rock band to be successful, it needs to broaden its set list in order to appeal to different types of country music audiences.

Country music acts need to do exactly what many country towns have had to do. Diversify or perish!

Tony Bonnici