Peewee Moore and the Awful Dreadful Snakes Outlaw country has seen better days. Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings are now dead, and Hank III’s all inked up, playing punk-metal and snorting God-knows-what with Jesco White. Is it too much to ask for a clean-cut cowboy in a Western shirt to sing some songs about truck drivin’ and ’shine? Fortunately for fans of honky tonk and old-school country, we have Peewee Moore and the Awful Dreadful Snakes. Tennessean Moore, son of a truck driver, is a dyed-in-the-wool country boy with a reassuring twang and a soft spot for the outlaw heroes. Ever under the shade of his cowboy hat, he frequents biker rallies, Johnny Cash festivals and other holdouts of a bygone era, working to keep the tradition he loves alive. And while he lacks the charisma and songwriting chops of his idols, Moore does the tradition proud with simple, well-executed songs about the lives and ways of country folk.

Rachel Bailey