If you're lucky enough to live in or near Nashville (literally the only time this native New Yorker will say this, so count yourself lucky), you're about to be in walking distance of AmericanaFest 2018. Now in its 19th year, the six-day long festival is put on by the Americana Music Association and is part conference, part music festival for those working in the industry. Some people will tell you that Americana is the "melting pot" of Americana music: roots, folk, country, blues, and soul.
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More simply, it's anything that country radio won't play -- for various reasons -- even though they should. Americana music tends to be more politically outspoken. It often plays with the boundaries between genres to create something entirely new. Because these artists either won't get played on country radio or don't want to be, the songs tend to dig deep emotionally. These musicians alternate between the most innovative and the most traditional among their peers.
A brief glance at the lineup shows full gender and racial representation of the musicians playing the kinds of music that bring us all here to Wide Open Country. Not only is it one of the most diverse lineups anywhere in any genre this year, it shows country music's full potential. As our managing editor Lorie Leibig pointed out, the threadbare excuses for not playing women and non-binary people on the radio have long since snapped. This year's AmericanaFest lineup proves that there are all kinds of people playing excellent music within the genre.
This year's AmericanaFest will feature some true legends but it's also the best place to discover up-and-comers. I've been writing about the Americana scene for a few years, and these ten of the hardest-working people and artists in the biz whom you need to make sure you see.
Austin Lucas
Clear-eyed and with an angel's voice, Austin Lucas is classically trained with a rough-and-tumble heart. On his new album, Immortal Americans, Lucas has become the musician and singer he's always meant to be. After getting sober, getting fit, and persevering through some truly crushing hardships, this is all by Lucas's own admission. He's come out of the other side of some huge personal transformations, and Immortal Americans sees him facing the world with a new confidence. I can only imagine how much more powerful he's become as a live performer.
Caleb Caudle
Caleb Caudle and Lucas hit the pavement at roughly the same time and in roughly the same scene, so it's thrilling to see both of them get their due. Caudle's more recent efforts, like Crushed Coins, is a quiet, meditative examination of life on the other side of your tumultuous twenties. But if you go back a few years to Carolina Ghost and Paint Another Layer on My Heart, you'll see Caudle can rock with the best of them. Caudle's depictions of the ways relationships can challenge people to grow is my favorite treatment of romantic love in the genre.
Courtney Marie Andrews
Go to a Courtney Marie Andrews show and you will find a room that is dead silent. Andrews' voice fills the empty spaces in the room and will reach into those little corners of your heart that you thought were dead. On her newest album, May Your Kindness Remain, Andrews' blend of '60s folk (a la Carole King) and old-time country soar to new heights as she explores the true nature of survival and the best it brings out in all of us. Andrews lets the songs do the talking at her shows and you'll come out changed a little bit for the better.
Great Peacock
Gorgeous harmonies? Check. Soaring folk music with the best hints of pop? Check. Gorgeous ponchos and Nudie-style suits? Check. Stage presence out the wazoo? Yep. I remember the first time I heard a Great Peacock song and you will, too. Blount Floyd and Andrew Nelson are a bit unreal life, balancing each other's frequencies perfectly. Nick Recio on drums and Frank Keith IV on bass round out a sensitive rhythm section that allows the band to soar. You'll need to see Great Peacock live to believe it.
H.C. McEntire
If you haven't dug into H.C. McEntire's earlier work in Mount Moriah, you're going to want to do that now. The North Carolina native has an extraordinary talent for creating swirling combinations of folk, punk, and Southern gothic motifs that feel larger than life. McEntire's new solo album, LIONHEART, digs deep into her experiences growing up queer in the South and trying to claim a home. She's supported on the album by frequent collaborator Amy Ray (of the Indigo Girls) and riot grrl legend Kathleen Hannah among many others. I'm sure bringing the songs to life in a live setting will only make them shine brighter.
Kaia Kater?
Kaia Kater's been one to watch for a while now. The Canadian banjo player has a voice for days. I was taken by her early morning set at Newport Folk Fest -- and that was at 11 a.m. Kater's self-assurance and ability to connect with her audiences makes her sets fun, but it's her singing that makes them memorable. Kater will soon release her sophomore album on Smithsonian Folkways, a nod to her ability to preserve traditional music while nudging it into the future.
Queer Roots at AmericanaFest
This one's cheating a little bit but I'd give my right arm to be here. This is AmericanaFest's first showcase for queer artists, and hopefully it'll be the first of many. It'll feature crooner Mercy Bell, trans roots and folk artist Eve Sheldon, Southern gothic powerhouse Amythyst Kiah, Little Bandit, and queer country pioneer Patrick Haggerty with his band Lavender Country. As I've written before, Patrick, who's a decent way into his 80s, can put on a show and it's not to be missed. The showcase will be at The Crying Wolf at 5 PM on Thursday, Sept. 13.
Rev. Sekou?
Reverend Sekou really is a reverend, and it's his liberation theology that truly animates his songs. Sekou was raised in the Mississippi Delta and intimately understands the combination of physical toil, faith, community, and power. His album In Times Like These is a balm and call to action for anyone struggling against injustice. In addition to his scholarly works and activism, Sekou can bring the jams. His concerts are charged with passion, jubilation, and possibility.
Samantha Fish?
Seeing Samantha Fish live will make you re-evaluate your life. You won't necessarily want to shred like she does, though you'll definitely be jealous. You'll just question what life choices led you away from a path where you can hire someone to hold a megaphone between you and your microphone while you sing a ten-second bridge during your encore. The blues guitarist's shows pack a lot of punch. Fish released two albums within a few months of each other: Belle of the West, produced by the North Mississippi All-Stars' Luther Dickinson, features Fish's guitar chops while Chills & Fever showcase her pipes and gospel leanings. I mean it when I say her set is a must-see.
Sunny War?
I don't think it's an exaggeration to write that Sunny War's music is a roadmap for where Americana can go next. War's guitar picking style calls to mind the blues but her songs transcend easy definition. War's lyrics show her to be a person with astounding observational powers and a specific outlook. Listening to her music is to listen to someone doing exactly what they were put here on this earth do: help us reframe our daily existence and change the ways we interact with each other.
AmericanaFest 2018 Lineup:
Ahi
Animal Years
Aaron Lee Tasjan
Alejandro Escovedo
Amanda Shires
American Aquarium
American Folk
Amy Helm
Amythyst Kiah
Andrew Combs
Arkansas Dave
Ashley Monroe
Asleep at the Wheel
Austin Lucas
Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons
Birds of Chicago
Birdtalker
Blackfoot Gypsies
Bobby Long
Bones Owens
Bottle Rockets
Brandi and the Alexanders
Brandy Clark
Buddy Miller
Buffalo Gospel
Buxton
Cordovas
Caleb Caudle
Candi Staton
Carolina Story
Carson McHone
Catherine Britt
Cedric Burnside
Chance McCoy
Charley Crockett
Charlie Faye and the Fayettes
Choir! Choir! Choir!
Chris Gantry
Chris Shiflett
Courtney Hartman
Courtney Marie Andrews
Creamer
Daddy
Daniel Donato
Darling West
Dawn Landes
Dead Horses
Devon Gilfillian
Dom Flemons
Doug Seegers
Drivin 'N Cryin
Dylan Pratt
Elise Davis
Elizabeth Cook
Emily Scott Robinson
Erin Rae
Esther Rose
Fanny Lumsden
Fantastic Negrito
Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen
Ghost of Paul Revere
Great Peacock
Greyhounds
Guthrie Trapp
Guy Davis
H.C. McEntire
Hyways
Hayes Carll
Hayley Thompson-King
Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs
Holly Macve
Hymn For Her
I'm With Her
Ian Moore
Ian Noe
Ida Mae
Israel Nash
J2B2 (John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band)
J.P. Harris
Jackie Greene
Jade Jackson
Jaime Wyatt
Jamie McLean Band
Janiva Magness
Jason Boland and the Stragglers
Jason James
Jedd Hughes
Jeffrey Foucault
Jeremy Pinnell
Jerry Douglas
Jill Andrews
Jim Lauderdale
Jim White
Joe Purdy
John Carter Cash
John Craigie
John Hiatt
John Oates
John Paul Keith
John Prine and Friends
John Smith
Johnny Irion
Josh Rennie-Hynes
Kaia Kater
Kathy Mattea
Katie Pruitt
Kelsey Waldon
Kim Richey
Kirby Brown
Kristin Andreassen
Kyle Daniel
Leah Blevins
Lee Ann Womack and Friends
Lee Roy Parnell
Lera Lynn
Leslie Stevens
Lilly Hiatt
Lindsay Lou
Liz Brasher
Logan Ledger
Lucie Silvas
Lucky Lips
Luke Winslow-King
Lula Wiles
Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear
Mando Saenz
Mandolin Orange
Mandy Barnett
Mary Gauthier
Max Gomez
McKenzie Lockhart
Mike and the Moonpies
Mike Farris
Mindy Smith
Mipso
Molly Tuttle
Mountain Heart
My Politic
Neighbor Lady
New Reveille
Nicholas Jamerson
Nicki Bluhm
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Oliver Hazard
Ordinary Elephant
Paul Cauthen
Peter Bradley Adams
Peter Case
Phil Cook
Phil Madeira
Pony Bradshaw
Prinz Grizzley and His Beargaroos
Rev. Sekou
Richard Thompson
River Whyless
Robbie Fulks with Linda Gail Lewis
Robby Hecht and Caroline Spence
Romantica
Ron Pope
Rosanne Cash
Ross Cooper
Ruby Boots
Ruen Brothers
Ruston Kelly
Szlachetka
Sam Lewis
Sam Morrow
Samantha Fish
Sarah Borges
Sarah Siskind
Scott Mulvahill
Shemekia Copeland
Shook Twins
Sons of Bill
Southern Avenue
Sugaray Rayford Band
Sunny War
The Wandering Hearts
Taylor Kingman
The Americans
The Band of Heathens
The Black Lillies
The Commonheart
The Earls of Leicester
The Josephines
The Last Revel
The Lone Bellow
The McCrary Sisters
The Milk Carton Kids
The Nude Party
The Reckless Electric
The Small Glories
The Suffers
The War and Treaty
The Watson Twins
The Way Down Wanderers
Them Coulee Boys
Thomas Csorba
Tim Bluhm
Tom Freund
Tommy Ash
Tommy Emmanuel
Town Mountain
Treetop Flyers
Tyler Childers
Tyler Ramsey
Tyrone Cotton
Van William
Vandoliers
Walter Salas-Humara
Whiskey Wolves of the West
Whitehorse
Will Hoge
William Crighton
William Fitzsimmons
William Prince
William the Conqueror
Wood and Wire
Worry Dolls
Yola Carter
