You need to see Jonny Corndawg. Now.

Jonny Corndawg (photo by Geoff Turner

Country music is steeped in too many musical traditions to count. The Bakersfield Sound, Outlaw Country, Stone Country, Honky Tonk, Country Pop, Southern Rock, Alt-Country [ad naseum...]; all with their own set of symbols, stereotypes and icons. Jonny Carndaw's ambition to embody all of them at once seems almost limitless.

 From the moment Corndawg takes the stage, you know your experience is going to be unique. The bone-white Stetson with matching pointed boots, the white-trash-tricked-out guitar (complete with leather pick guard and Jonny's namesake inlaid in pearl on the fretboard), and the sky blue western shirt with "Corndawg" embroidered on the breast pocket flap tell you all you need to know about the spectacle you are about to behold.

I caught Jonny Corndawg at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville on a Sunday night. Corndawg ran through several raunchy, tongue-in-cheek crowd favorites - "Life of a Bear" and "Down on the Bikini Line," - while also introducing plenty of new material from his forthcoming record Dad Country (which will feature a backup band consisting of none other than GeoffFM favorite Dawes).

Deer Tick's John McCauley with Jonny Corndawg (photo by Geoff Turner)

The true highlight of the night was a two-song cameo from John McCauley (lead singer and songwriter of Americana antiheroes Deer Tick) for covers of "Mom & Dad" and "Middle Brother" from McCauley's 2011 Dawes/Deer Tick/Delta Spirit collaboration album Middle Brother.

Jonny Corndawg is an act you simply must to see to completely appreciate. Is he seriously pure country, or is he a hilariously cornball tribute to trucker honky tonk at it's best/worst? You will have to judge for yourself.