When someone says "What's Americana?"

[BoomBoomBigelow]

I point to the Alvins and X and Los Lobos, among others.
Steve Earle.
The Meters?
Folks who transcend their given niche, like Johnny Cash.
It's such a smushy genre. Needs a Venn diagram.
Who you got?

 

[Elias Graves]

Willie Nelson
The Band
Woodie Guthrie

I dunno. It's a goofy, I'll defined genre. To me items the music has a timeless quality to it and I could imagine hearing it 50 years ago or 50 years from now and it's still relevant.
It bleeds between folk, country, rock and blues. Or something like that.

 

[Gary Blanchard]

Just another useless label...

 

[Elias Graves]

Just another useless label...

Pretty much.
We used to call "red dirt music" "southern rock."

I'll stick with my own two categories:
Good
Bad

 

[jaxn slim]

Yeah, that's tricky. I'm biased because I only got really into Americana recently. I think the sweet spot is kind of a folky, bluesy, country songwriter.

Mine are:
The Wood Brothers


North Mississippi Allstars


Ben Miller Band

 

[Gary Blanchard]

I probably like most of the music that gets thrown under that label, but too much stuff that has little in common gets thrown under that label.

A lot of kids get labelled as having ADHD. It's kinda like that.

 

[Alex W]

I tell them it's the word "American" with an "a" attached to the end of it.

 

[Chicken Man]

Country music played by folks who don't practice.

 

[Elias Graves]

Country music played by folks who don't practice.

See, I always thought it was country music played by stoners.

 

[Kerouac]

Kicking Up Cinders

 

[Tig]

Emmylou Harris
Patty Griffin
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
The Wood Brothers
Jason Isbell
Drive-By Truckers
Lindi Ortega
Allison Moorer
Steve Earle
Justin Townes Earle
The Little Willies
Holly Williams
Pokey LaFarge
Nickel Creek
Shovels and Rope
The Black Lillies
Shelby Lynne
Lydia Loveless
Kasey Anderson and The Honkies

 

[angry tele]

flying burrito brothers

 

[telecaster911]

Antsy McClain and the trailer park troubadours.
Roger Cline and the Peacemakers
John Cougar Mellencamp

 

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

The Offspring

 

[BoomBoomBigelow]

Lucinda Williams

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[BoomBoomBigelow]

The Offspring

I'm gonna let that slide, because 'murica.

Chris Isaak.

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

 

[Flamencology]

Just another useless label...

I can imagine opening day at Blanchard's Records

"Hi, can you help me find the opera section? I don't know anything about it, it's for a friend."

"Umm..."

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

I can imagine opening day at Blanchard's Records

"Hi, can you help me find the opera section? I don't know anything about it, it's for a friend."

"Umm..."

I support that.

Put everything in alphabetical order. Without labels, it's all just music.

 

[Mark Wein]

I loved "Tomorrow the Green Grass" and "Hollywood Town Hall" when they came out originally. Haven't listened in many years...