As a music lover, I thought the whole Americana genre was a slow progression of musical styles that infiltrated our consciousness through a 10-15 year period of time. I grew up in New England and heard The Byrds, The Band and Dylan doing music that sounded good with roots in country styled music. I remember bluegrass mainly from “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” on the Beverly Hillbillies. Along came the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band which turned me on to old time country and bluegrass in a more profound way. I started listening to the old timers and developed a keen interest by going to bluegrass festivals. Before that time(early 70’s), I was a casual listener of bluegrass. College radio stations in the Massachusetts started playing bluegrass on specific music like Country, Blues and Bluegrass. These Roots music programs further developed my interest in bluegrass and Americana. It has been progressive for me with many folks adding an element or two along the way that forged a loving appreciation and interest of the style. I agree Nitty Gritty Dirt Band turned me on to a wider range of bluegrass artists.
Eric Sutter
