Music Nerd's Guide to Americana

The definition of Americana spans wide, but thanks to its dusty roots, you know it when you hear it. The genre is steeped in tradition and easy to pull history from: Johnny Cash's sombre cover of Hank Williams' “I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry” cuts deep; The Gun Club inject blues roots with adrenaline on “Preaching the Blues”; and Uncle Tupelo's “The Long Cut” is all country rock muscle.