Alt-Country and Roots music?

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During college, I got really into alternative country and 'no depression music,' as well as some earlier roots music. Ryan Adams' Heartbreaker was sort of the gateway album for me and it grew from there. Recently, I've been rediscovering some of this music again.

Anyone else into music in this vein? If so, is there anyone you'd recommend? I tend to get into ruts and could stand to discover some new favorites.

II you're curious about roots music from the sixties through the nineties I could rattle on about artists in a dozen categories of "roots music" that I recomend: blues, bluegrass, Tejano, Cajun.

The current scenes I dont know as much about.

Steve Earle is a major songwriter in the rockabilly/country/southern Rock sphere that I recomend. Into story telling and social comentary. His magnum opus,in my opinion, was the 90's title track of the album "Copperhead Road" in which he mixes celtic ingredients such as a bagpipe like drone and a bodrain type drum into an american country two-step song structure to tell a dark tale of three generations of backwoods outlawry. Awesome. The rest of the album is pretty good as well.

One artists that I knew from party deejaying for country fans as a mainstream Nashville hitmaker I latter learned allso did an album that could be called "alternative"(so she fits in both categories). Kathy Mattea had many mainstream hits like "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses", but she also did an album called simply "Coal" devoted solely to songs about the price of coal mining in Appalachia. Havent had a chance to hear it myself,but I like alot of her mainstream hits so it probably an interesting album.

Just a couple random names that came to mind.

I love Irish music, especially the Dubliners, Clancy Brothers, The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys, Chieftains etc. & my ma's a big Steve Earle fan! I love The Copperhead Road album. Also I'm really into Woody Guthrie, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Springsteen etc.

Thanks, I don't know much of Steve Earle's music, but do recall hearing some of it years ago and enjoying it. Maybe I will have to check out more of it.

If you want some great bands and musicians and singer songwriters to discover, go look at the line up for the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival that takes place every year for free in San Francisco, Golden Gate Park in early October.

Steve Earle is always a guest and many, many others. Enjoy!

Wish I was able to go out to California for that! Don't think that's in the cards, though ...

Here's some stuff from my collection that I would recommend, ranging from vaguely rootsy rock to more straight forward country/blues/roots. You may well be aware of some of this already, of course.

A.A. Bondy - American Hearts and When The Devil's Loose
The Band - Self Titled Album
The Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo
The Duke & The King - Nothing Gold Can Stay
Emmylou Harris - Luxury Liner
The Flying Burrito Brothers - The Gilded Palace of Sin
Gram Parsons - GP and Grievous Angel
Gob Iron - Death Songs For The Living
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Here We Rest
Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard - One Fast Move Or I'm Gone
Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues
Levon Helm - Dirt Farmer and Electric Dirt
Ry Cooder - Into The Purple Valley
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights
Son Volt - Trace
Steve Earle - Train A Comin', I Feel Alright and El Corazon
Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne
Whiskeytown - Faithless Street, Strangers Almanac and Pneumonia

^^Good list. Most of it I'm familiar with, but there are a few new things I'll have to check out. You reminded me of how much I miss Whiskeytown ...

Love your username, too, by the way.

If you like Steve Earle then you should check out Buddy and Julie Miller. Their latest "Written In Chalk" is truly a great record.

I'm mostly into Irish & Scottish folk music but I love American music too!

Steve Earle
Flatt & Scruggs
Johnny Cash
Amadee Ardoin
Dennis McGee
Bill Monroe
Woody Guthrie
Pete Seeger
Carolina Chocolate Drops
Carter Family
Leadbelly
Bukka White
Son House
Howlin' Wolf
etc.

As a mandolin player, I love Bill Monroe's music! even though I play mostly Irish/Scottish tunes I love bluegrass and he has definitely influenced my playing style

I'm not a huge country or roots fan, but I have a few albums in my collection I really like that could fall under this banner. All these albums are fairly recent, released within the last 5 years.

Alela Diane - To Be Still
Angus & Julia Stone - Down The Way
The Audreys - Between Last Night & Us
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
Julie Fowlis - Cuilidh
Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know
Laura Veirs - July Flame
Martha Tilston - 'Til I Reach The Sea
Nina Nastasia - On Leaving
Vashti Bunyan - Lookaftering

These bands can probably be labeled as roots or have some characteristics of it. I don't think any of these artists were mentioned yet in this thread.
The Avett Brothers
The Barr Brothers
Calexico
Band of Horses
The Civil Wars
Iron and Wine
The Jayhawks
John Hiatt
Josh Ritter
The Low Anthem
Peter Case
Old Crow Medicine Show
Richard Buckner
Ryan Bingham
Son Volt
Townes Van Zandt
Wilco
Willard Grant Conspiracy
William Elliot Whitmore

William Elliot Whitmore, yes!
Uncle Tupelo
Dark Dark Dark
Devil Makes Three
Freakwater (!)
Nina Nastasia
Mountain Goats
16 Horsepower
Defiance, Ohio

I also recommend the Carolina Chocolate Drops; Their album "Genuine Negro Jig" is fantastic!

their music is a mix of African-American music (blues, ragtime) Country/Bluegrass, and Celtic music! Their banjo player Rhiannon Giddens, knows a lot of traditional gaelic songs and old blues standards & sings them beautifully! I would love to play a session with them some day!

- sorry! I forgot I mentioned CCD in my last post