While we'd love to be traveling to warmer climes, life dictates that we spend our time here in Boston relentlessly reporting on the music scene for all you folks and fans of americana music. First off, it seems that the term "Alt Country" has become about as passe as ording up a PBR at your local dive bar - I mean come on THREE bucks for a 16 oz PBR. My prediction - Schiltz 40oz'rs are the new PBR - if they could get the distributor to get more accounts - Schlitz would dominate in the alt country market.
Now, onto music, and yes, the late lamented "Alt Country" in Boston. It seems that Boston has always been a tough market for country music. The politics, demographics and general demeanor of us Bostonians does not lend itself well to the down home musicgenre of Country. Most music fans in these parts would lump Alt-Country right into the music that passes as country being churned out by the Nashville styling of model perfect boys and girls. My friends, of course they are wrong, alt country has more in common with punk and rockabilly roots than Billy Ray. So, many of the bands recently have moved away from the moniker "alt - country" and adapted the more respectable moniker of Americana.
So, with that in mind here's some Americana bands worth seeing, and yes we will even tell you about a few bands NOT worth seeing. My friends, a jam band that cloaks itself in the Americana label to garner a few more gigs or fans is just outright lame. Still, an all encompassing genre such as Americana music ( see the AMA charts for who is actually on the list - John Fogerty an americana artist, ok, I buy that. How about Nora Jones? It's this music fan's ( yes I am a music fan first and foremost, and a critic second, although a close second. I have a gold record on my wall, so I think it gives me the right to be a critic ! So, Americana music has become an umbrella for folk, rock, country, soul, and many other sub genre artists who have musical identity issues? I personally would like to see local bands step up to the plate and call a spade a spade, and an alt country band, an alt country band. You dont see punk bands pussyfooting around looking for a way to make there music more accessible to people who might be turned off by their moniker...
Yes and my list of best and worst of the boston music scene Americana bands will be forth coming - stay tuned...
