Rolling Stone Country published a really interesting piece just before we had our Christmas break which described how americana was once a niche genre (rude), before finding a wider audience in the last decade citing artists like the Lumineers, Mumford & Sons, and the Avett Brothers. Cue the heated debate over what constitutes americana but hey, if a band causes a banjo to be played on Radio 1, who are we to cast the first stone.
They do perhaps lay it on a bit thick with the Mumfords: “The term Americana had never been attached to an act in the pop mainstream until Mumford & Sons were introduced to the States en masse in 2010.” Discuss.
You can read the whole fairly lengthy piece anyway (which also notes “secret 2010s Americana influencer Justin Timberlake”!!) over at RS Country here:
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/americana-music-decade-mumford-isbell-929712/
