It's known for tackling some of life's grittier issues, among them loss, poverty and nostalgia. But today's country music lyrics are turning to the effects of economic hardship.
Country music and hard times. A cliche perhaps, but try telling that to legions of fans across the United States, many of whom are on the frontlines of economic struggles, seeking solace in the music.
Fans like 53-year-old Jim Yocius, from Windsor, Connecticut.
"For the first time in my life, I feel very vulnerable," he says outside the Comcast Theatre in Hartford, before a concert by Country star Toby Keith.
Barbecue smoke drifts over serried ranks of pickup trucks as fans enjoy pre-concert tailgate parties.
"I feel like that older white male who did everything right, and now I feel like the next generation really wants me gone," he says.
The music helps him by, especially Ronnie Dunn's latest hit, Cost of Livin', which describes an unemployed man's painful search for any kind of work.
"It gives me a spiritual lift, bizarrely enough, to hear that song and just go 'All right, pick it up, shut up, suck up and get going again'."
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