Americana (music)

For other uses, see Americana (disambiguation).

Americana
Stylistic origins	American folk music blues country country folk bluegrass appalachian gospel
Cultural origins	mid 19th Century - early 20th Century, Americana
Derivative forms	Old-Time music roots rock folk rock folk pop rhythm and blues rock and roll
Local scenes
United States

Americana (also known as American roots music) is an amalgam of American music formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the musical ethos of the United States, specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, gospel, and other external influences. Americana, as defined by the Americana Music Association (AMA), is "contemporary music that incorporates elements of various mostly acoustic American roots music styles, including country, roots rock, folk, gospel and bluegrass resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound that lives in a world apart from the pure forms of the genres upon which it may draw. While acoustic instruments are often present and vital, Americana also often uses a full electric band." Some songs of the 19th century are, for example, "Oh! Susanna", "John Henry" and "Camptown Races", some 20th Century songs are "Casey Jones" and "You Are My Sunshine".

Etymology

The word "Americana", in its current meaning of describing the culture of the United States of America, was coined in 1841.

Despite the genre's most common name, it is not practiced solely by artists from the United States, as numerous artists from Canada are also prominent in the genre. Canadian bands in the genre will sometimes be referred to as Canadiana rather than Americana in Canadian media, although this is not a widely recognized synonym elsewhere. A Norwegian scene is often referred to as Nordicana.

Americana as a radio format

Americana as a radio format had its origins in 1984 on KCSN in Northridge, California. Mark Humphrey, a contributor to country/folk Frets magazine, hosted a weekly radio show called "Honky Tonk Amnesia" which played "country, folk, honky tonk, cajun, dawg, blues, and old-time music", a combination that the country music station KCSN advertised as "Americana". The format came into its own in the mid-1990s as a descriptive phrase used by radio promoters and music industry figures for traditionally-oriented songwriters and performers.

See also

• Grammy Award for Best Americana Album
• Alternative country
• Country rock
• Roots rock
• Heartland rock
• Southern rock
• Americana Music Festival & Conference
• Sisters Folk Festival
• Mile of Music

External links

• Americana Music Association
• Americana Radio Airplay Chart
• Twang Nation – Americana and Roots Music Blog
• Americana Music Show Podcast