3 Jam Band Songs That Could Be Country Classics

What’s in a name? William Shakespeare taught us that a rose would smell just as sweet if you called it a sunflower or a daffodil. So, what’s the point of thinking about music in terms of genres? Sometimes it helps, other times it confuses. Today, country music is known to come out of Nashville and the American South.

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But string music and, dare we say, jam band music has a definite connection to country and some of that stuff spans Pennsylvania down to Alabama. While jam bands can sometimes take songs from three minutes to 20, at their heart they are folk artists. And sometimes they even bring a little twang and sound like country songwriters.

Here below, we wanted to dive into three such examples. A trio of tracks from jam band artists that could be classified as country. Indeed, these are three jam band songs that could be country classics.

[RELATED: 3 Iconic Jam Bands from the File-Sharing Era]

“Grace Is Gone” by Dave Matthews Band from Busted Stuff (2022)

Reflective and down-home, this song from the Dave Matthews Band also includes slide guitar, an instrument often found on classic country songs. But more than any single element, it just sounds like something that could be played in a roadhouse in the American South. The singer has lost his love and so now he’s in a bar, asking for just one more drink. What’s more quintessential country than that scene? Indeed, Matthews sings,

One drink to remember
Then another to forget
How could I ever dream to find
Sweet love like you again?
One drink to remember
And another to forget

Excuse me please, one more drink
Could you make it strong?
‘Cause I don’t need to think
She broke my heart
My grace is gone
One more drink and I’ll move on
One more drink and I’ll be gone

“Farmhouse” by Phish from Farmhouse (2000)

You can actually picture being in a farmhouse as this song goes. Maybe it’s a local shindig where everyone from the neighboring farms come by for a dance. And in the sky above there are shining stars and a giant moon. If lead guitarist Trey Anastasio played his guitar solo with a slide on his finger, you wouldn’t be able to tell this track was from a big jam band. And on it, he sings,

Woke this morning to the stinging lash
Every man rise from the ash
Each betrayal begins with trust
Every man returns to dust

I never ever saw the Northern lights
I never really heard of cluster flies
I never ever saw the stars so bright
In the farmhouse, things will be alright

“Truckin’” by the Grateful Dead from American Beauty (1970)

A song that sounds like it was born in the back country after a big ol’ bottle of something was passed around a circle of friends strumming on their guitars. This is one of the best-known tunes from the Grateful Dead, the godfather of all jam bands. Released in 1970 on their album American Beauty, this is certainly a track that blurs genres. And on it, guitarist Bob Weir sings about being on the road,

Arrows of neon and flashing marquees out on Main Street
Chicago, New York, Detroit and it’s all on the same street
Your typical city involved in a typical daydream
Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings

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