Gram Parsons of the Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, and International Submarine Band, popularized "Cosmic American Music" or what we like to call Cosmic Americana - a hybrid of country, R&B, soul, folk, and rock. His name is synonymous with the 1960s revitalization of American roots music along with acts like The Band.
Through the 1970s, you could hear R&B grooves colliding and cahooting with the finger-picking of folk and the ballads of blues. In the Muscle Shoals house band backing Aretha Franklin, in the music of the Allman Brothers and Emmylou Harris, to name just a few.
Then there were those who defined the guitar sound of Cosmic Americana: John Fahey, J.J. Cale, Robbie Basho. Some iconic acts continued to carry the legacy of the Cosmic Americana movement throughout the decades through tte 90s to today—Neil Young, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Townes Van Zandt.
The genre found a forever home among a subset of indie and “cult following” acts and record labels. If you’ve ever had trouble labeling the sounds of certain singer-songwriters of folk-adjacent artists, Cosmic Americana may have been the term you were scrambling to find. Hiss Golden Messenger, Bonny Prince Billy, Steve Gunn, Jess Williamson, Phosphorescent, Scott Hirsch, Sturgill Simpson, William Tyler, and Sarah Louise are just some of the many acts keeping the sound alive. Not to mention the labels that not only introduce new artists but also find, preserve, and re-release greats of the past such as Numero Group, Drag City, Light in the Attic, among many, many others.
One of the beautiful things about Cosmic Americana is that it adds a pop edge to roots music, giving it a steadfast hold on our musical landscape. It’s timeless because it defies rules, standards, and “the way it’s always been done.” Each new artist adds something unique to the genre, passing the baton to the next slide guitar-wheeling youngster to see what they can do.
