Mission: The mission of the CalAmericana Association
is to advance California's legacy and leadership in roots Americana music through publicity, events, education and networking. Background:
California, the most populous state, is the world leader in roots
Americana music which includes twanger-songwriters, old-timey music, bluegrass, country-western, alt-country, rockabilly, and many points between. The Golden State may be the world's roots Americana
leader, but our good friends in Texas and Tennessee have the public's attention.
California may not be on the world's roots radar, but it is the world's eight largest economythe world does not
know it the , with more bands, musicians, DJs, venues, radio programs, associations, studios, labels and general music infrastructure than anyplace in the world, but the world does not know this. The
CalAmericana Association believes this should change.
In fact, just about anyplace east of the Sierra Nevadas to change this perception
What exactly is roots Americana music? It turns
out that there isn't any "exactly" to it. 600 years ago home-spun musicians and traveling troubadours helped the Renaissance break the Church's grip on music which led to songs of and by the people, or
"folk." 400 years ago folk started settling British Colonies in North America. 200 years later America has become a country, Jewis and Clark have reached the Pacific and
waves of settlers begin heading west carrying their instruments and traditional songs with them. Ralph Stanley, Bob Wills, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, early Elvis Presley
and many more have brought roots Americana to where it is today yet though different artists put it together differently, but the music's tempos, keys, lyrics, song structures, rhymes and names, like
Johnny, have "roots" that date back to Europe 600 years ago. History:
California may lead the world in roots music, even though the world does not
know it. Texas, Tennessee and the Southeastern states are most commonly associated with this music, but the fact is that is that as music migrated it was everywhere in the U.S. and Canada.
The 1849 Gold Rush brought the California is first wave of dreamers and roots musicians. The Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 brought second. Another swept in arrived with opening of the  Panama canal in 1914 and San Francisco's Panama Pacific International
Exposition in 1915. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s brought even more migrants and music to the Pacific Coast. In the 1940s, war
in the Pacific brought more still and the welcome mat is still out. California has lead all other states in population since the 1960s
since this is the state where people and their instruments really do check in and never leave. California Roots Americana: Roots Americana developed all over the United
States and Canada, and great players came to California from everywhere. California legends like Buck Owens (born in Texas), Gram Parsons (born in Florida) and Neil Young
(born in Ontario) are among the biggest names in California roots. The cowboy myth as we know it was created in California movie, radio and record studios as early as the 1920s. John Wayne, a Californian since he was five, became the first celluloid singing cowboy when he played Singin' Sandy Saunders in 1933's
Riders of Destiny. Texan Bob Wills put western swing on the national map once he'd moved to California in 1943.
Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam are icons of the "Bakersfield sound" that emerged in the 1950's from Dust Bowl migrants like Wynn Stewart and The Maddox Brothers and Rose.  Bob Wills, the name most closely identified with western
swing, During the 1960s, Gram Parsons' work with the Byrds, and later with the Flying Burrito Brothers, would spawn "California country" and bands like Jackson Browne and the
Eagles. In 1972 the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band issued a three LP record compilation, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, that turned the post-60's generation onto roots
Americana. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Vassar Clements went on to join Old and in the Way, which included Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Peter Rowan.
That band still holds the record for the biggest selling bluegrass record of all time with their 1975 self-titled debut. The Grateful Dead
went on to spawn the "California jam" branch of roots Americana. The Blasters then came along in the 1980s and pioneered the "California rockabilly" branch of roots Americana.  Today there are over 1000 roots Americana bands, duos and solos
in California, hundreds of which are listed on the CalAmericana
Bands page. Scores of new ones form monthly and it is impossible to name all the great ones performing today, but names like
Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men, Big Sandy and the Fly-Right Boys, Laurie Lewis, Devil Makes Three, Deke Dickerson, Red Meat, the Stairwell Sisters, and many, many
more, are making music far better than anything out of Nashville, yet Nashville calls the tune. This is the problem that the CalAmericana Association seeks to remedy. CalAmericana Now:
CalAmericana's current emphasis is its "California First" program to bring more of its roots music to Californian's themselves. California is the
world's sixth largest economy, so the music needs to build its presence at home by building a network that can accomplish together what none can do alone. This site, which includes lists of on-line
calendars, bands, venues, DJs, Festivals, articles and
resources like roots on-line sites, instrument providers, booking agents, publicists, related nonprofits and more, provides an important hub for the state's roots network.
After networking comes audience building where CalAmericana produces shows at clubs and cafes, provies music and information to radio outlets, and supports in-state touring.
And there's always more to be done. Click here to join the CalAmericana Association or learn more about CalAmericana projects on the
Volunteer page. California has reason to be proud of being the leader in roots Americana that it is, and is
welcomes others who are proud of it too. CalAmericana Association
P.O. Box 460303
San Francisco, CA 94146-0303
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