As Bonnie “Prince” Billy, William Oldham became the definitive example of Alternative Country. He sang as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders yet like few others delivered a beautiful sadness in his music. Ironically, his music sells better in the United Kingdom (not exactly an Alt Country hotbed) than in the United States, but despite the acclaim he receives, the enigmatic Oldham has a lot of work to do before Cleveland remotely considers him.

Seemingly hitting their stride lately, Blue October has delivered on a formula of angst, Alt Rock and Experimentation. As part of an underappreciated Texas Rock scene, Blue October has reached a certain level of mainstream success without really having to shed what made them special to begin with. Their Hall of Fame chances seem slim at this point but they appear to have a lot more steam left in them to alter that perception. 

A band name that we find colossally cool, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, was an Alternative band that came from Texas, yet sounded far more artistic than other Alternative bands did. Merging Noise Rock and Hardcore Rock, the Trail of Dead did secure a decent following, but does a decent following make a Hall of Fame career? Probably not, as shown by who is in currently.

Alkaline Trio carved themselves a solid spot in the Punk world with a respectable catalogue in the Punk Revival World. With anti-establishment tunes and a Punk/Emo sound, the Alkaline Trio was able to get a fan base, but only a modest one. As we know, any band with only a modest fan base is a longshot for the Hall, and as much as we respect them, they don’t have that intangible to put them in Cleveland.