americana
what it is
In music, Americana is a loose subset of American folk music, that is perhaps best defined as "classic American music"—ranging in style from roots-based bluegrass to alternative country, gospel, blues, zydeco, and other native forms. One of the main reasons Americana is used to describe such a wide variety of musical genres is because of the diverse range of cultural influences which is called American. For example, traditional Bluegrass instrumentation consists of the banjo which originated on the African continent, guitars from Europe, fiddling styles which have their roots in traditional Irish and other Gaelic fiddling techniques, and yodeling from alpine regions of Europe.
✦ start here: albums
✦ who's making it, level by level
level 2 · the door
big names with a sharper edge
level 3 · one step out
cult favorites and indie darlings
level 4 · further
art pop, hyperpop, and the underground
level 5 · all the way
deep experimental
✦ make americana a playlist
turn these 38 artists into something you can press play on.
✦ nearby genres
questions
What is americana?
In music, Americana is a loose subset of American folk music, that is perhaps best defined as "classic American music"—ranging in style from roots-based bluegrass to alternative country, gospel, blues, zydeco, and other native forms. One of the main reasons Americana is used to describe such a wide variety of musical genres is because of the diverse range of cultural influences which is called American. For example, traditional Bluegrass instrumentation consists of the banjo which originated on the African continent, guitars from Europe, fiddling styles which have their roots in traditional Irish and other Gaelic fiddling techniques, and yodeling from alpine regions of Europe.
What are good americana albums to start with?
Try Nothing's About to Happen to Me by Mitski, COWBOY CARTER by Beyoncé, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You by Big Thief, and Revival by Gillian Welch.
Who are some women making americana?
musicisforgirls.com/genres/americana/girls lists women, non-binary artists, and bands with women making americana, from mainstream to underground.
genre notes from last.fm listeners · artists and albums from last.fm, updated 2026-10-19