I've been hearing of music being "dead" as long as I can remember. Different types ands styles of music don't die, they just becomes less prevalent as the generations of people that listened to them pass on. For example, Big Band isn't dead, it just lost popularity when the WW2 generation of people aged and died, but there are still plenty of Big Band's performing and young people playing it. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole style music isn't dead as people like John Pizzarelli, Harry Connick Jr. and Michael Buble are still performing it, it's just that fewer people listen to it, so it's no longer mainstream.
And so it is with country music. The genre itself has evolved into many sub-genre's. I too detest the current country music and what they call Red Dirt, which, although it is for the most part country music, is quite uncreative with predictable keys, chord changes and lyrics.
The older, more traditional country music is not as popular as it once was, but is very much alive and well in Texas. Small record labels keep it going and surprisingly many young folks are recording it. Venues and dancehalls such as the
Longhorn Saloon in the Fort Worth Stockyards, the
Western Club in Navasota, and the
Stampede in Big Spring, as well as Western Swing festivals around the state all offer traditional country music.
I've been performing traditional country music that leans towards Honky-Tonk and Western Swing for about 35 years now. For awhile it seemed that all the musicians I hired to play this style of music were 50+ years in age, but I'm now seeing a change in that. The guitar player that fills in for my regular guitar player is 25 years old and attending Texas Tech on a jazz guitar scholarship. He's a monster on, and loves to play, the older stuff. A few weeks ago I played a benefit and there was a very talented 16 year old kid playing fiddle and steel guitar. Another from the San Antonio is barely over 30 and is an up and coming steel player.
For years I haven't listened to music on the radio at all, rather I'd burn CD's to listen to on road trips. Now with Pandora, Spotify, et al, I can listen to whatever I want, whenever I want. I was returning from a job yesterday listening to Spotify and was amazed at all the younger artists performing Honky Tonk music, many of whom I had never heard.