The Lone Bellow, a New York City Americana/folk band that just released their debut album in January, is this year’s band. I know that a year can have many bands, and I’m all for sharing, but there’s just something about The Lone Bellow that makes me forget that. I know this all sounds a bit exaggerated, so if you want me to put it bluntly: these guys are simply gonna be big. Read More »
Rating: ★★★★1/2
Goodnight, Texas is a small unincorporated community in Armstrong County, Texas. It was named after Charles Goodnight and, according to the band, got its first post office in 1888. In more recent times, Patrick Dyer Wolf, Avi Vinocur, Bobby Kendall, and Alex Nash came together to create a San Francisco based neo Folk, Americana group named after the community. Together the four write folk songs reminiscent of the turn-of-the-century.
Americana music has long suffered from an existential split. Purists long for the days of the Bakersfield sound of Merle Haggard and Buck Owens but can only stand by and watch as Toby Keith and Tim McGraw top the charts and stake their own claims as representatives of real American music. However, the lines are not always so clearly drawn. Recently, popular bands have started to incorporate the sounds of Americana, blues, and bluegrass, with the traditional stylings taking on new and different forms. Frat boys all over have grown fond of Old Crow Medicine Show, and chances are you’ve heard a few songs from Mumford & Sons.
