Friday, March 13, 2009

The New Rockabilly Geography



Anyone who is a rockabilly musician or fan has noticed the explosion in the number of groups that are staying true to the roots of the genre. This is great news for us roots music fans. Also, Myspace and communication with some of my friends there has allowed me a closer look at the phenomena of rockabilly and what strikes me immediately is the distinctly international character of the movement. I simply had no idea of the the strength and commitment to rockabilly in Spain, Australia, Sweden, Italy and Finland, just to mention a few. For example, check out the top 30 myspace friends of the Swedish rockabilly outfit Wildfire Willie and the Ramblers. Our 1950's roots are running deeper than ever in Europe right now. Is Asia next?

Closer to home, Canada also has a very strong representation in the genre. And here in the U.S., that representation seems to break down regionally, with exceptions of course. Rockabilly groups have proliferated in California and all along the West Coast, and the state of Washington seems to have a real concentration of groups. And, to be expected, there is also a very strong following in the musically rich cities of Austin and Nashville, and quite a few groups in Boston and New York State.

In spite of these concentrations, rockabilly is well represented all across the U.S. map, from Lincoln, Nebraska to Athens, Georgia. Congrats to all who are staying true to the roots.

2 comments:

  1. I see you are featured on Pribek.net. Any friend of the Pribeks'is a friend of mine.. I wish you all the success in the world with this very important subject. Music Roots Spain to Athens, Georgia that is... ambitious... and interesting.

    Never thought of myself in Rockabilly terms, but I do have some history with the Billy Goat Tavern, you might know -- Lower Wacker Drive, Chicago? Does that count? I hope so.

    Looking forward to some peaches over here. Later, Pat Darnell and Friends

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  2. Thanks for stopping by. More posts coming, will try to cover a wide range of roots music topics and keep them informative and interesting.

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