What is Americana? What is truly being "American"? For those of you whose grandparents or parents are first generation American, or second generation, how about this, take a step back and think on why your family emigrated here. For those of us whose families have been here for hundreds or thousands of of years, we need to step back and analyze why and who we are in the midst of this new history, for which we are our own guides. Our brick and mortar familial foundations, have become the binder to build upon these great shores, but it is within all of us to become something bigger.
To become something bigger, I believe is the tenement of Americana Folk Music. The notion that the greater good or the vast amount of folks want to create a change that is for the benefit of society as a whole. Was Bob Dylan wrong in saying "There's no black and white, left and right to me anymore; there's only up and down and down is very close to the ground.
And I'm trying to go up without thinking about anything trivial such as
politics. They has got nothing to do with it. I'm thinking about the
general people and when they get hurt."
It is these notions which drive change. The type of change which is felt within music, within creativity and within politics. So ya wanna make change, dig within yourself to start.
This type of change defined what we know now as the American movement
