Jay Farrar didn't know he was creating a whole new genre when Uncle Tupelo began, just as he didn't set out to toughen up Americana with Son Volt.

Steve Earle sits on his bus at an Owensboro, Ky. bluegrass festival. He played the Opry the night before, Summerfest in Milwaukee the night before that.

Richard Thompson remembers standing outside his sister’s bedroom door as a young boy, listening to the records she was playing on her Dancette record player, and marvels.

Patty Griffin has built a life of traveling the world and singing her carefully framed miniatures. Three decades into her career, the woman regarded as an “artist’s artist” realized things needed to change.

The Cowboy Junkies' latest album All That Reckoning continues a career defined by literate lyrics and minimalist atmospherics.

The Mavericks arrive on the Vineyard this week to play at the Performing Arts Center. “There are 12 of us,” said lead singer Raul Malo. “Eight onstage, four to keep us together, and 30 pieces of luggage.”