If you’re a fan of country music, blues, folk, rockabilly, rock and roll — or any mix of the above — you may discover Americana is the greatest musical genre you’ve never heard of.
The Americana Music Association (AMA) defines Americana as “music that honors and is derived from the traditions of American roots music. ” If that seems vague, well, it is, but in a very good way. An inclusive way, celebrating artists from Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn, to Buddy and Julie Miller, to Chris Isaak and Southern Culture on the Skids. In a time when musical boundaries seem to be breaking down in a free-for-all mixing of musical races, Americana is a sort of the supergroup of musical genres. And unlike that other AMA (as in American Music Awards) this organization and the artists it represents are all about the music, rather than advertising dollars and product placement.
What a radical and refreshing idea.
The AMA celebrates the best in Americana music at their awards every year in Nashville, and draws a fan base as broad as the performers themselves. Hard to define, the only requirement is an artist draw on traditional American music in its most classic form, regardless of generation. And that they filter it through their own eyes, ears and life experiences. Jed Hilly, Executive Director of the AMA, cites Lucinda Williams as a perfect example of contemporary Americana.
“You hear those country influences in Lucinda’s work, but she’s clearly not a country music artist. What Lucinda does with her sound and her art is — she’s informed, she’s smart, she’s learning from the past, like any great artist…she’s taking the lessons of the past and she’s incorporating it into her own contemporary style of music that I think is fantastic.”
Perfectly illustrating the diversity of this group of artists, Williams has played with, been compared to, or artistically linked with Emmylou Harris, Porter Wagoner, Flogging Molly, Hank Williams, Elvis Costello, and Bob Dylan, another favorite cited by Hilly.
“In Bob Dylan’s chronicles, he talked about how he was an Americana artist before there was such a term, which I love because that means that Bob Dylan is recognizing there is a genre called Americana.”
And a lot of others are recognizing it as well.
From the comeback of Americana pioneer Levon Helm — who rejected the recommended laryngectomy for his throat cancer in the 90s to survive and record again — to college favorites Old Crow Medicine Show, Americana rambles on, honoring the greats before them and putting their own contemporary twist on the legends.
Want to hear more? Also check out Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Julie and Buddy Miller (as a duo and as solo artists,) Gillian Welch, John Hiatt, and Chuck Ragan. And let your iTunes lead you to similar artists and territories unexplored — you may discover your new favorite genre, as well. Or forget the dated concept of genre altogether.