Robbie Fulks, Marshall McLean

In the early ’90s, Robbie Fulks was playing a rootsy folk style that flew in the face of the loud, grungy boys so popular at the time. The sound landed him on the fledgling Bloodshot Records, where he helped pioneer so-called “alternative-country” — basically code for “better than what’s on country radio.” Now 53, Fulks is at the peak of his storytelling powers on his new Upland Stories album, full of traditional bluegrass and folk used to convey stirring tales of regret and struggle in rural America.