americana | Musicosity

americana

Justin Townes Earle

Justin Townes Earle walks the line between old time country and modern acoustic Indie music by breathing new life into Early country, blues and gospel forms. His first release, Yuma, was a stark and beautiful set of songs written while Earle was fresh out of rehab and is now re-released by Bloodshot Records, who have a further three albums on their catalogue. The Good Life, Midnight At the Movies (Americana award nominee) and the latest Harlem River Blues show Earle's characteristic charm, wit and rhythm to the forefront.

Artist Type: 

Steve Earle

Steve Earle (born January 17, 1955) is a singer-songwriter best known for his country music and rock 'n roll tinged "alt-country." He is also a published writer, a keen political activist (particularly in protesting against the death penalty in the U.S., as in his song "Ellis Unit One" from the movie Dead Man Walking), and has written and directed a play. Steve also had a small role as a recovering addict on the HBO television show "The Wire".

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

<a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Will+Oldham" class="bbcode_artist">Will Oldham</a> (born 24 December 1970, Louisville, Kentucky) is an American <a href="http://www.last.fm/tag/singer-songwriter" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">singer-songwriter</a>, actor, and musician. His music is often (perhaps inappropriately) placed under the genre of "<a href="http://www.last.fm/tag/alt-country" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">alt-country</a>". Oldham has recorded under many names, including <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Palace" class="bbcode_artist">Palace</a>, <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Palace+Music" class="bbcode_artist">Palace Music</a>, <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Palace+Brothers" class="bbcode_artist">Palace Brothers</a>, and <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/+noredirect/Bonnie+Billy" class="bbcode_artist">Bonnie Billy</a>. He often plays and records with other musicians, including <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/David+Pajo" class="bbcode_artist">David Pajo</a> and his brothers Ned and Paul Oldham, but is generally the chief creator of the music.

Hayes Carll

Joshua Hayes Carll, known as Hayes Carll, is a singer-songwriter from The Woodlands, Texas (a Houston suburb). He is currently signed to Lost Highway Records. If you haven’t already heard of Hayes Carll, you soon will. In the three years since his self-released second album, Little Rock became available, Carll has toured relentlessly in North America and abroad (performing over two hundred shows a year), founded a successful singer-songwriter music festival on the Gulf Coast of Texas, secured a record deal with Lost Highway Records...

Artist Type: 

AA Bondy

Coming from Birmingham, Alabama. Ex-Verbena frontman toned down his sound in recent years after Verbena disbanded.
The guitars may be mostly acoustic these days, but the southern drawl and honest lyric and songwriting style still shine through. It seems Bondy has found another perfect style for his raspy voice, the acoustic blues akin to Rolling Stones ballads or Bob Dylan.
He recently married into the Felice family--of Felice Brothers fame--and sometimes tours with The Felice Brothers, performing both as an opening act and as an auxiliary guitar player.

Artist Type: 

Kinky Friedman

Richard S. "Kinky" Friedman (born October 31 or November 1, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former columnist for Texas Monthly who styles himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and Mark Twain. He was one of two independent candidates in the 2006 election for the office of Governor of Texas. Receiving 12.6% of the vote, Friedman placed fourth in the five-person race.

Artist Type: 

Dwight Yoakam

Purveyor of the <a href="http://www.last.fm/tag/bakersfield%20sound" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">bakersfield sound</a>, country singer-songwriter Dwight Yoakam grew up in Columbus, Ohio before first heading to Nashville and eventually west to Los Angeles, and bought a place in Bakersfield, CA near his idol & mentor <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Buck+Owens" class="bbcode_artist">Buck Owens</a>. Active as a recording artist since the early 1980s, Yoakam has appeared in films, on over thirty charting singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and a plethora of albums and compilations selling well in excess of 20 million units worldwide.

Sam Amidon

Sam Amidon (real name Samuel Tear) was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, on June 3, 1981. His parents are Peter Amidon and Mary Alice Amidon, both well established folk musicians. Folk music runs freely throughout the New England heartland of Vermont, and the Amidon family are a strong lifeline in that movement’s heritage. Both Sam’s parents, Peter and Mary are performers and teachers of music. Growing up in this solid environment with strong family ties most certainly set the scene for Sam’s musical trajectory. His little brother is the great Stefan Amidon, who is a drummer.

Artist Type: 

Mary Gauthier

Mary Gauthier (born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1962) is an American folk singer/songwriter. Given up at birth by a mother she never knew, Mary was adopted. At age 15, she ran away from home and stole her parents' car, and spent the next several years in detox, halfway houses, and living with friends; she spent her 18th birthday in jail. These experiences provided fodder for her songwriting later on (particularly her song "Drag Queens in Limousines").

Artist Type: