Today we celebrate Americana music. On any given day you can check out the top bands on CincyMusic. These are based on how often those bands are checked out on our site. Since we are celebrating all things America today, here are the top ten Americana bands!
Storytelling through song is an American tradition. Acclaimed Cincinnati songsmiths Young Heirlooms take you on a nostalgic journey with their sentimental, heartfelt original tunes. Music and lyrics are based on family history, personal experience, and adventures on the run.
You never know when you might hear the music of 500 Miles to Memphis. Maybe in a Honky Tonk in Tennessee. Maybe at a Rock show in North Carolina. Maybe at a Punk festival in their hometown of Cincinnati. Maybe in an acoustic format at the corner bar or coffeeshop. Or maybe on MTV’s Nitro Circus, soundtracking some extreme sport stunts. The band is comfortable in almost any setting, largely because their music, a mix of scrappy Country and scorching Rock & Roll, has a magnetic, wide appeal.
Since their debut in 2008, Hickory Robot has steadily become one of the tri-state's pre-eminent Americana bands. Evolving through the years, they continue to weave the threads of bluegrass, folk, Celtic, country, jazz, and rock into a singular, evocative tapestry that has been met with popular and critical acclaim.
The Willow Tree Carolers are a folk, roots, and Americana band from the Queen City Cincinnati, Ohio. They have taken their vast array of influences put them in a blender, added a cherry, and out came this style. Foot stomping is definitely not frowned upon, neither would be singing along, however you feel music is welcomed at a Willow Tree show.
Joe’s Truck Stop is a Cincinnati based Country/Blues/Western band. Their unique sound is characterized by traditional vocal harmonies, Bluegrass drive, wild fiddling, hot guitar picking and the Honky Tonk and Swing sounds of old.
The Warsaw Falcons formed in 1982, playing rockabilly and alt country. This band spanned over 20 years both locally and regionally, utilizing over 40 of the area’s finest musicians, playing with Bo Diddly, The Drifters, Big Joe Duskin and Bobby Keys and opening for acts such as Joan Jet and Marshall Crenshaw. Many fans will remember the “Big Bill Pickle” incarnation of the band, which was formed to play jump blues rock and swing and won the 2000 Cincinnati Cammy Award in that category.
Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hills Hustle
It’s hard to stay still around these boys. They’ve got that toe-tapping, knee-slapping, boot-stomping kind of sound. They get you moving and shaking. Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hill Hustle, part rowdy honkytonk, part old-time pioneers, equates to a sound that sticks with your soul and leaves you singing barefoot into the star sky.
Storytellers from Greater Cincinnati with distinct, Kentucky swagger. Randy Steffen, Kelly Thomas, Zach Rowe, John Schmidt, Kevin Hogle & Chris Alley, are Wilder.
Wilder hangs its hat on honest and gritty songs about the common man, relying on three-part harmonies, crunchy guitars and a great back beat.
Maria Carrelli is a Cincinnati-born musician based currently out of the small but vibrant musical community that is Ludlow, Kentucky. Crafting folk-based grass roots music, she probes her listeners by baring her soul through song. Her music is heavily influenced by old bluegrass standards, country music through the ages with an essence of modern folk.
Ben Knight and the Welldiggers
Ben Knight plays American music. Kentucky Country music. A noble homage to generations of toil and progress. He and his band the Welldiggers bring new and original tunes that catch your attention with equal parts nostalgia and intrigue.
