Americana (music)

Americana (also known as American roots music)[1] 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.[2] 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."[3][4]

For other uses, see Americana (disambiguation).
Americana
Stylistic origins
Cultural originsAmericana
Typical instrumentsacoustic instruments such as banjo, mandolin, fiddle; electric instruments such as electric guitar and electric bass
Americana instruments include...
5-string banjo
Washboard
Mandolin

Etymology

The phrase "Americana", in its current meaning, to describe the culture of the United States of America, was coined in 1841.[5]

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.[6] Canadian bands in the genre will sometimes be referred to as Canadiana rather than Americana in Canadian media,[7] although this is not a widely recognized synonym elsewhere.

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".[8] 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.[4]

See also

References
  1. Widner, Ellis (July 16, 2017). "Bramletts gave root to Americana". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  2. Pete Knapp (2008-10-06). "What is Americana Music?". Peteknapp.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-26. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  3. "What Is Americana". Americana Music. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  4. Bernstein, Jonathan (September 13, 2017). "Inside the Americana Genre's Identity Crisis". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  5. "Americana – Legends of America". www.legendsofamerica.com.
  6. Annie Zaleski, "25 Country and Americana artists you might not know are Canadian". The Boot, September 5, 2018.
  7. Lee Zimmerman, Americana Music: Voices, Visionaries, and Pioneers of an Honest Sound, Texas A&M University Press, 2019. ISBN 9781623497019. Chapter 48, "The Sadies Look South".
  8. "Honky Tonk Amnesia". Frets. Vol. 6. 1984. p. 50.
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