Americana Walking

What is Americana music?  Has anybody ever even heard of this term to describe a genre of music?  If you live in Nashville, chances are you haven't.  To most listeners, a first impression of an Americana artist would typically leave the listener classifying their music as “country.”  However, this type of music is not the new-age pop sensation "country" BS that seems to be the big thing streaming around the nation these days.  It is not the country superstar artists who are triple platinum from singles somebody else wrote for them.  Americana music is the roots of original country, but has acquired the nickname of “alternative country.”  This music is composed of a mix of blues, country, folk, rock, and rhythm, all of which is written by original artists with original lyrics, most of whom are not your household names.  These are your average Joes, self- starter types, who pay their dues by playing honkytonks all over for many years until they develop a reputation for themselves.  They are not the type who are signed by a major record label and become an overnight sensation.  They play the music they write and write the music they want without any dictation from a record label.  In my opinion they could be considered the “indie” of the standard country music; the “real” versions of Nashville.