The New Folk: Americana

There is one more folk-type musical phenomenon to mention - the strain of country music known as Americana. This is a return to country and western roots. In contrast with alt-country, a more rock oriented type of country music, Americana has a gentle, folksy sound.

Here is Blue Rodeo in an acoustic, stripped down performance that does remind me of old time country music:


But in contrast, another Americana group, The Jayhawks, seems to fit more into the soft rock category:


Some of the artists performing Americana are:

Dave Alvin
Blue Rodeo
Steve Earle (very much a rocker to me)
Joe Ely
Butch Hancock
John Hiatt
The Jayhawks
The Mavericks
Uncle Tupelo
Townes VanZandt
Gillian Welch

Coincidentally, The New York Times recently ran an article about the new sound from Nashville men, which they characterize as a gentler, more soft rock sound than traditional county. Here is a link to the article. I'm not sure if this new style fits into Americana or not, but some of the artists noted in the article are:

Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Charles Kelley (of Lady Antebellum)
Jake Owen
Blake Shelton

The Times notes that these artists can be recognized by the lack of a cowboy hat.