Country Roots Music Web Guide

Country Roots Music on the Web

• Academy of Western Artists - promoting and preserving cowboy & western heritage cowboy & western music, western swing, cowboy poets, western artists, chuckwagons, gearmakers, western music radio, DJ's. Home of the AWA Will Rogers Awards.
  
• AMA - The Americana Music Association out of Nashville. Their motto: "We walk the line" which sounds a lot like sitting on the fence to me.
  
• Americana Roots was started to attempt to bring together all the news surrounding the Americana music industry. We are a small group that love the music made by real musicians which is what we see in Americana.
  
• Americana-UK - News, reviews, UK gig guide, interviews, features... a great site.
  
• Angry Country - A voice for both mainstream and independent country artists. Site include album and show reviews, interviews, news and a public forum.
  
• ArtistDirect Country - Country is a nebulous term, but the name does evoke a specific sound, namely the long-standing tradition of simple country songs delivered with simple instrumentation and a distinct twang. Find MP3's, lyrics, tabs, pictures, video, web sites, merchandise, and more!
  
• Australian Country Music Links compiled by Sharon Colon. A gazillion links both Aussie and worldwide. Check it out.
  
• Bluegrass Bands of Texas - links to bands, festivals and associations.
  
• The Bluegrass Blog - Bluegrass news and information at the speed of... well, bluegrass.
  
• Bluegrass Works - Reviews, festivals, forum, CDs and more. Bluegrass Works is a group of folks who love bluegrass music, who want to see bluegrass music thrive and who want to help support the musicians and other fans who help make the music.
  
• Cajun Zydeco Music - A cool site with lots of resources on Cajun and Zydeco music, culture, dancing, etc.
  
• Central Texas Country Blending traditional country, honky-tonk, rockabilly, early-folk, roots-blues, cowboy music, hillbilly, bluegrass and western styles. With an emphasis on South Central Texas including the free Musicalternatives eNewsletter bringing you a weekly calendar of country roots music events.
  
• Clubhouse Concerts - If you live in North Texas check out this site for a good live-music listening opportunities.
  
• Country Forums - Discussion forum for country western music where fans and artists can talk all things country.
  
• CountryHome - Germany's Premier on-line Country Music Magazine features classic to pop country, and everything in between, with equal enthusiasum.
  
• Country Legends Association - The Country Legends Association was formed to promote Traditional/Classic Country, Gospel and Bluegrass music, which has been ignored to some extent and to preserve the roots that brought Traditional Country Music to the public.
  
• Country Music Alive - providing country music fans with a  resource for news, information, and discussing country music. Covers New, Contemporary and Traditional Country.
• Country Music Hall of Fame and museum in downtown Nashville.
  
• Country Standard Time has news, country music features, country CDs, in concert, editorials, book reviews and links.
  
• Country Start Page - Comprehensive directory for country music sites, musicians, events, magazines, lyrics, shops, radio, fan sites, record labels, forums, tv, associations and more.
  
• The FAR Charts - Freeform American Roots Chart covering real music played for real people by real DJs. Get the current info.
  
• Folk Alliance is the service association for the field, and works on behalf of the folk music and dance industry year round. Our advocacy efforts tackle issues important to the folk arts community. We offer a business directory of contacts for members, and a non-profit group exemption program for US-based organizations.
  
• Folk Blues is a place for those interested in "acoustic music" (folk, blues, bluegrass, Celtic, Cajun, or whatever else might be included) to find and share information, and to enjoy the music we all love.
  
• Folk Radio - an electronic discussion group for DJs and other people interested in all folk-based music (bluegrass, old-time, traditional balladry, traditional international music, singer-songwriters, etc.) on the radio.
  
• Folk/Roots Music Video - catalogs streaming music video and DVDs in a wide range of genres - from groups performing new versions of old time string band music; through traditional folk and country, bluegrass, newgrass and blues; all the way to contemporary folk singer/songwriters. Anything that has clearly been influenced by the history of American roots music. Stay up to date on the latest finds by subscribing to the free weekly e-mail newsletter.
  
• Freight Train Boogie is a website dedicated to Americana Music: including Country & Folk singers and songwriters, with a special emphasis on "Alternative Country" and Roots Rock music. People come to this music looking for something real and honest, with more passion and grit then what they hear on today's commercial radio stations. A great site with lots of quality information, including RealAudio music files.
  
• The Hillbilly Music: Source and Symbol website is based on an exhibit organized in April of 2002, as part of a conference surrounding the publication of Guthrie T. Meade's Country Music Sources. Recognizing that the exhibit provided a concise and thoughtful introduction to the roots of commercial country music, archivists at the Southern Folklife Collection decided it should be adapted to the web when the opportunity arose. The same resources would be used but the virtual exhibit would allow 78s to be seen and heard, documents to be more closely examined, and the materials in the exhibition to be accessed in a variety of ways. In addition, secondary sources used as references in creating the original exhibition could be integrated; these sources provide valuable context, and fit the online format where they would have felt out of place in the original exhibition. The website was completed in the fall of 2004.
  
• Honky Tonk Texas, USA - hand-crafted collection of Texas Music resources. Serving up Texas dance hall history, country music legends and Texas music news, we're always open.
  
• The Hornpipe - Perspective on Southern Folk Music out of Spartanburg, S.C.
  
• iBluegrass.com - One of the biggest and best bluegrass sites on the web. Full of great content.
  
• IBMA - International Bluegrass Music Association: Working together for high standards of professionalism, a greater appreciation for our music, and the success of the worldwide bluegrass community.
  
• Indie-Music - Indie-Music.com is a portal for musicians. The community-based system attracts the music industry, media, and music fan segments. Both amateur and veteran musicians regularly log on to Indie-Music.com for the latest news, articles, and contact directory updates.
  
• The Insurgent Country Homepage - A site based in Germany full of alt.country, Americana, country rock info, links, reviews, news, etc. and so forth. Some of the info is sadly out of date, but still worth a visit.
  
• Joe Sixpack's Guide to Hick Music - Part of the website of San Francisco Bay Area DJ, Joe Sixpack. Equal parts e-zine, music guide and wacky carnival mirror for his overstuffed, overly musical brain.
  
• The Journal of American Roots Music - navigating the universe of acoustic music. "Our mission is to raise the visibility of acoustic music among those who listen primarily to commercial country and pop radio."
  
• Kerrville Folk Festivals are family oriented events which are held each year on the Quiet Valley Ranch, just 9 miles south of the resort town of Kerrville in the heart of the beautiful Texas Hill Country. Our two annual festivals are the Kerrville Folk Festival and the Kerrville Wine & Music Festival.
  
• My Texas Music - the website showcasing (selling) independent Texas music artists.
  
• Native Ground Music founded in 1973, is the comprehensive resource for authentic southern Appalachian music and traditional music of rural America, the Civil War, and the Old West. Our gospel, bluegrass, and old-time folk music collections are unsurpassed, and we have a full catalog of outlaw ballads, cowboy music, pioneer music, Lewis & Clark music, and railroad songs.
  
• Pickathon Music Festival - non-profit  traditional/roots music festival near Portland, OR. Proceeds from the August, week-end festival go to local community radio
  
• Pure Music - an online magazine dedicated to bringing great music to an audience whose tastes and interests are not limited to what's being played on corporate radio and television. They're all about singer songwriters and music for grownups from new folk to R&B, country to pop, spoken word to instrumental.
  
• River Music Experience - The River Music Experience celebrates and explores American Roots music and its journey from river towns to our national songbook. The official Web site of America's only museum dedicated to the past, present and future of American Roots music.
  
• Rockabilly Hall of Fame is the creation and vision of Bob Timmers who founded it in 1997. It is full to overflowing with all sorts of stuff about rockabilly artists and the scene in general.
  
• Roots Music Report - Charts and articles on roots music, including Alternative Country, Bluegrass, Blues, Folk and Traditional Country.
  
• Singer/Songwriter Directory - you will find links to sites dedicated to singer/songwriters. You can find links to official home pages as well as fan sites, to well known artists as well as starting musicians. (I've linked you into the Texas page, rather than the homepage of the site.)
  
• Strait France - Après plusieurs semaines d'exploitation, le site a su trouver ses fidèles parmi les fans de George et les passionnés de country music. C'est le résultat d'un énorme investissement personnel. Vous trouverez de quoi lire et découvrir cette immense star américaine. (The first french website about George Strait and probably the first in Europe.)
  
• Take Country Back The Country Music Website for Traditional Fans! They're dedicated to promoting and supporting traditional country music, be it from an established favorite, or a new, up and coming artist. We are committed to carrying on the tradition of great country music.
  
• Texas Heritage Music Foundation was established in July 1987 to preserve and perpetuate the traditions of Texas music, to examine the background of Texas music, to trace influences and patterns in Texas music and to document the role Texas music has played in society.
  
• Texas Music Guide is a website promoting Texas Music for the fan and musician, both. Site includes listings of artists, events & festivals, radio stations, record labels, and they have news, reviews, interviews, and links.
  
• The Texas Music Office "serves as the information clearinghouse and promotion office for the Texas music industry." Lots and lots of quality information for musicians and lovers of Texas music. Featuring the Texas Music Events Calendar
  
• Texicana Music Central - Miss Lana's Texicana Music Central, the music site with personality. You will find a concert calendar for the North Texas area, artists links, venue information, festival listings, pictures and other interesting tidbits about Texas and its music.
  
• Third Coast Music Network - can be heard Mondays through Saturdays from 3 - 7PM and Sundays 4-8PM on KSYM 90.1 in San Antonio Texas.
  
• Traditional Country Hall of Fame is the creation and vision of Bob Timmers. It is full to overflowing with all sorts of stuff about traditional country music and artists.
  
• Twangfest - is a celebration of great Americana music, from bluegrass to hardcore honky-tonk to roots rock. In its sixth year, Twangfest is now both a musical event in St. Louis and a non-profit organization.
  
• Un-Broken Net - Web site tribute to The Carter Family, the First Family of American Music.
• Vic's Music Corner - Victor Heyman's folk music info site.
  
• Western Beat Entertainment - Billy Block's site on the Internet.

Mailing Lists/Discussion Groups.

• Americana - discussion group This list CLAIMS to be for the discriminating music listener or musician who appreciates and respects the music format of "Americana." I subscribed to the list for about a year, but found the growing number of posters to be less discriminating in their musical tastes and not really "Americana" at all. If you like alt.country and North Texas style country music, you may find a home there. I have unsubscribed.
  
• FOLKDJ-L is an electronic discussion group for DJs and other people interested in all folk-based music (bluegrass, old-time, traditional balladry, traditional international music, singer-songwriters, etc.) on the radio. With over nine hundred subscribers from all corners of the earth, we're a lively bunch with a unique perspective on folk music. Take a look at our digest archives and sign up for a folkdj-l subscription if what we do is of interest to you.
  
• Hillbilly - discussion group The Hillbilly Music Mailing List was created to provide a forum for intelligent discussion of traditional country, bluegrass, southern rockabilly, honky-tonk, western swing, old time, and other related forms of culturally southern music. This music was called Hillbilly Music by the press in the 1940s and 50s and many of us still embrace that term. Discussion of past and present artists is encouraged.
  
• Postcard2 - discussion group (or P2 for short), the list has nearly 700 subscribers, including a number of musicians, music critics, record label and retail bizzers, radio personnel, club promoters, musicologists, and a lot of other folks who simply love the music. Most conversations deal with country music, but it may be western swing, country rock, alt.country, honky tonk, and even the redeeming new country acts that can get buried in a sea of mediocrity. CAUTION: High message traffic list.
  
• Rockabilly - discussion group The original Rockabilly Mailing List. Bertrand Kohler of France founded the Rockabilly Mailing List in 1995. This list is a meeting point for all the 50's rock'n'roll and rockabilly addicts. You can use this list for sending us info about the next gigs in your area, writing some gig reports, talking about the bands you dig and about the bands you dislike... In fact all the subjects related to the rockin' scene and 50's life style are welcome. CAUTION: High message traffic list.
  

There are many discussion and announcement groups dedicated to individual musicians. You can generally sign up for these on their web site. See Links to Bands & Musicians page.

Print Publications

• 3rd Coast Music is a free newspaper distributed monthly in the greater Austin and San Antonio areas or you may subscribe from anywhere in the world. It is published by John Conquest who has now moved from Austin to San Antonio. John has been around the music industry for a long time, is well known by many musicians. The paper is filled with music news, CD and concert reviews, opinions, gossip and good recommendations. It covers similar musical genres as this newsletter, but there are interesting differences, too.
  
  John now has a small website. It is not intended to replace the newspaper, but to provide you a peek at the current month's contents and to let you know where you may pick up a free copy in South Central Texas.
  
  John is also the proponent of The FAR Chart replacing the now defunt Gavin Americana Chart.
  
• Bluegrass Now - Includes some web content from the print magazine.
  
• Bluegrass Unlimited - Includes some web content from the print magazine.
  
• Dirty Linen is the bi-monthly magazine of folk and world music. It is available on paper via subscription or at retail stores.
  
• Fiddler Magazine was begun in the spring of 1994. Our aim is to provide an informative, educational, and entertaining resource for fiddlers, accompanists, and appreciative listeners. Each issue (now approx. 60 pages each) features a different region or style of fiddling, as well as plenty of other articles and columns.
  
• Flatpicking Guitar Magazine is a bi-monthly periodical, and companion audio CD, dedicated to presenting all aspects of the art of flatpicking the acoustic guitar as pioneered by such great guitarists as Doc Watson, Clarence White, Norman Blake, Tony Rice, and Dan Crary.
  
• No Depression The website for No Depression Magazine which is a bi-monthly magazine covering "alternataive country music (whatever that is)." They are available at record stores, bookstores and news stands across the USA and beyond, or subscribe from the web site.
• Rope Burns - Industry trade magazine serving the western and cowboy trade industry.
  
• Sing Out! The Folk Song Magazine, A quarterly journal, published since May of 1950, each *huge* issue includes complete lead sheets for 20 or more traditional and contemporary folk songs, feature articles and interviews, instrumental teach-ins, tons of recording and book reviews.

Email Publications.

• None

Record Stores

In attempt recoup some of my costs of running this site, I've become an affiliate of the following two record outlets. They have a wide selection of recordings at good prices. If you visit them through the following banners, then I will earn a small commission on each sale. Thanks. Support Independent Music & Central Texas Country by clicking below:


If you cannot find it at Texas Music Roundup, then try:

Artist Title Song Soundtrack Label

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Presented as a public service. The below are not advertisements; I get no compensation from these folks.
Click on a logo to visit a store.

“Austin Online Music sells digital songs from Texas musicians utilizing an artist-friendly file-sharing technology. We encourage you to play, buy and share this music - you can earn money when you do. We'll even start you off with $5 of free music!”

Best store in Austin. New & used CDs, cassettes and vinyl. Will accept checks and money orders for mail-order by phoning the store. Great return policy for retail sales - bring any CD back for any reason within 10 days for store credit (with receipt) ... even if you just don't like it. In-store performances to celebrate new releases - this is where the big names come to play. On-line sales, too.

Austin store with an enormous number of used CDs. They pay cash for CDs. Free in-store performances the last Thursday of every month.

San Marcos mail-order business run by super nice-guy Chad Raney. "The unofficial capital of Texas music on the World Wide Web." The online store features more than 500 artists and some 5,000 song samples.

One of the few mail-order stores on the Internet that will take checks and money orders. Lots of indie, Texas, and Americana artists. Nice folks on the left coast who know their music.

  Your Texas Music isdedicated to Texas music of any stripe. We like non-major label artists. We’re really fans of undiscovered, struggling artists, working their way along and paying their dues. We’re also fans of people who have paid their dues, but for one reason or another never gained admission to major label stardom.

OutboundMusic.com is an online distributor and internet radio for independent recording artists.  We're based in Houston and feature quite a few country artists. OutboundMusic.com donates 10% of its net profits to charity. Our goal is to someday contribute at least 30%.

Mail-order, distribution & CD manufacturing alliance of musician-owned independent Texas record lables. Worthy of your support.

Village Records, the largest new & used retail store in Shawnee, Kansas, now offers their wares on-line. They say, "This music is hard to define. It's called all kinds of things, Roots, Americana, Alt-country, Folkrock, folkcountry and so on. If we put too permanent a label on it, it might get ruined. So call it what you like, just call us when you want it."