Saturday, July 23, 2016

The New Acoustic Popular Music (Part 8) - Railroad to the Graveyard

By Don Robertson

Say Goodbye! to hard rock as it writhes in dying pain and bid Hello! to Americana, the new acoustic popular music. Thank God you have arrived. 

      In the previous articles of the New Acoustic Popular Music series, I discussed the emergence of new music that is widely divergent from the typical commercial offerings brought to us by corporate America. It is acoustic music that is mainly based on the roots music of Southeastern America. We find that it is innovative, fresh and young. Most of the musical members of this genre are under 30 years of age, or were when they started their careers. In this and the following articles in this series, I will continue to introduce this new generation of music.

    In this article seven different artists are spotlighted.

Railroad Earth
     This "newgrass jam band" is from New Jersey in the USA. They came together in 2001 and released their first album The Black Bear Sessions that year.
'Mighty River" by Railroad Earth 2011

Regina Spektor
    This is Russian-born American singer-songwriter Regina Spektor. She received her first piano training in Russia as a young girl. Listen to "Samson" that she recorded at age 26 in the year 2006. It has over 18,000,000 YouTube hits as of this writing:
"Samson" by Regina Spektor 2009

Widowspeak
    Widowspeak hails from Brooklyn, New York. This duo came together in 2010 and recorded their first album a year later.
"In the Pines" by Widowspeak

Passenger
     Michael David Rosenberg uses the stage name Passenger. He hails from England. David started Passenger as a band in 2003 when he was 19. He went solo in 2009, keeping the name "Passenger."
"Let Her Go" by Passenger

Glen Hansard
    Glen Hansard is an Irish singer and actor. He appeared in the films The Commitments and Once. His first album appeared in 1991 when he was 21-years old. In this video filmed in Albert Hall, he sings with Irish singer Lisa Hannigan:
"Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Lisa Hannigan

Carolina Chocolate Drops
    This totally different group is from North Carolina. They perform as a traditional string band in homage to the state's once popular music genre. They formed in 2005. Five years later, their 2010 album Genuine Negro Jig won a grammy. 
A full session with the Carolina Chocolate Drops 2012

Graveyard Train
   Here's a completely different group. Called Graveyard Train, they are from Melbourne Australia.
"Tall Shadow" by Graveyard Train

     In the next episode of "The New Acoustic Popular Music" I will continue to present videos that I hope you will love and enjoy as I do.

Enjoy the music. There is a lot more to come.

So for now, "Good music. Good Vibes." I'm Don Robertson.

© 2016 by Don Robertson