1994年成军于北卡罗莱纳州的另类乡村名团Whiskeytown,由后来四度赢得葛莱美奖提名的创作才子Ryan Adams邀集小提琴手Caitlin Cary、吉他手Phil Wandscher、贝斯手Jeff Rice、鼓手Steven Terry联手组成,1996年于独立厂牌发行的《Faithless Street》专辑后吸引了主流大厂Geffen的重视而签入旗下,隔年随即推出荣获滚石杂志四颗星好评的《Strangers Almanac》。
Ryan Adams的音乐中,Country与Punk双重音乐性格已成为他的最大特色。乐队Whiskeytown的成功使他为美国人所知,成为美国独立音乐界AltCountry/Americana运动不可多得的一员。
可惜的是,Whiskeytown 已经解散了,这张 《Strangers Almanac》也只是今年的再版。
Whiskeytown's 1997 major-label debut, Stranger's Almanac, helped to establish Adams' reputation as a songwriter. In the midst of the album's recording, Gilmore and Grothman left, and Wandscher left soon after the album's release. The band cycled through numerous members throughout the next year, including Jeff Rice and Steven Terry, both of whom were involved in the recording of Almanac but left later that year.[citation needed]
The band's reputation preceded it in the live setting. In a 1997 Detroit Free Press article titled Whiskeytown: half band, half soap opera, a June 1997 show at Mac's Bar in Lansing, Michigan was described by fans as a half-baked performance.
Despite the band's internal strife, Almanac was a successful album with critics, with the tracks "16 Days" and the Replacements-esque "Yesterday's News" receiving significant radio play. The positive reviews came from increasingly mainstream publications such as Rolling Stone, who claimed at the time, "If there's to be a nirvana among the bands that are imprecisely dubbed alternative country, look to Whiskeytown."