Like the music in the new Hunger Games movie but not really know anything about folk/bluegrass/country? Here are some quick recs to get you started!
(This is not comprehensive and the genres here are a little whack, these are just songs I listen to as someone raised on good Appalachian vibes. Not necessarily from just Appalachian artists, particularly in the second section. Just think it’s nice that people are getting more exposure to folk + bluegrass!)
Protest Songs / Coal Criticism
(Hazel Dickens I would give you smooches.. also these are just the ones living in my playlists rn)
“You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive,” Patty Loveless
“The L and N Don’t Stop Here Anymore,” Jean Ritchie
“Coal Tattoo,” and I’m exercising my free will and linking the Hazel Dickens version
“The Yablonski Murder,” Hazel Dickens
“Coal,” Tyler Childers
“Trip to Hyden,” Tom T. Hall
“Coal Miner’s Daughter,” Loretta Lynn
“Devil Put the Coal in the Ground,” Steve Earle
Assorted Personal Favorites
(where my love for Sierra Ferrell is really on display)
“West Virginia Waltz,” Sierra Ferrell
“Across the Great Divide,” Nanci Griffith
“Blue Ridge Mountain,” Hurray for the Riff Raff
“Iowa (Traveling, Pt. 3),” Dar Williams
“Rhododendron,” Bella White
“Boulder to Birmingham,” Emmylou Harris
“Silver Dollar,” Sierra Ferrell
“Hands of Time,” Margo Price
“Lilacs,” Waxahatchee
“Way of the Triune God,” Tyler Childers
“The Dreaded Spoon,” Ricky Skaggs + Bruce Hornsby
“Preacher in the Ring, Pt. 1,” Bruce Hornsby
“The Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia,” Hazel Dickens
Is this thing on? Been a lonnnnnng while, but I want to test the waters to see if there's an audience for country music on Tumblr 2023.
I've been making a weekly playlist in lieu of a radio show for a couple months now. Figure that'd be a good place to start.
If you like country music that's outside the mainstream, check out this playlist. It's full of new and recent releases. I kick it off with a classic country song and send it off with Willie Nelson. In between you'll find music from artists making country music in their own way with their own style. While the music changes every week, the playlist stays in the same spot. Plus, there's an archive where I retire the old playlists.
If you find something you like, let me know and give the artists a follow on instagram.
Track list:
Ray Charles - Georgia on My Mind
The Waymores - Greener Pastures
Christopher Seymore, South Texas Tweek - I Can Get off on You
Amanda Donald - Get in Line
Marty Bush - Turn Down the Lights
Nora Kelly Band - Rodeo Clown
David Quinn - Down Home
Zach Bryan, Sierra Ferrell - Holy Roller
Turnpike Troubadours - A Cat in the Rain
Sarah Jane Scouten - Wanderlust
Nick Shoulders - All Bad
The Two Tracks - In the Morning
Jim Lauderdale, The Po' Ramblin' Boys, Del McCoury - Long And Lonesome Letting Go
Sentimental Family Band - Never Love Again
Willy Tea Taylor, The Fellership - National Treasure
David Garnham and the Reasons to Live, Gleny Rae Virus - Long Way Round
Nathan Mongol Wells - Honest Drinking
Lola Kirke, First Aid Kit - All My Exes Live in L.A.
Abbigale Dawn - Ex Boyfriend Blues
Christian Parker, Earl Poole Ball, JayDee Maness - You Ain't Going Nowhere
Miss Georgia Peach - Silver Threads and Gold Needles
Vince Gill, Paul Franklin - Walkin' Show and Thinkin' About Her
Madeline Hawthorne - Neon Wasteland
The Howdies - Buddies
Katie Mae & the Lubrication - Hard Livin'
The Deslondes, Sam Doores - Howl at the Moon
Brit Taylor - If You Don't Wanna Love Me
Izaak Opatz - Shampoo
Ruby Oland - Life Without Love
Lucas Hudgins - All in My Head
S.G. Goodman - Space And Time
Woody Woodworth & The Piners - When Them Dogwoods Bloom