The Downhome Sound

"American roots music, also known as Americana music, is comprised of many sub-genres and has long been associated with politics, diversity, and race, but political science has yet to explore its impact. Mandi Bates Bailey's 'The Downhome Sound' fills that void by considering the message, the artists, the community, and the impact of Americana music. To understand the genre's intended messages and reception, she analyzed lyrics and surveyed Americana artists, music journalists, and festival organizers. Ultimately, she suggests that her interviews with Americana artists reveal their powerful desire for inclusion and diversity and, in some cases, the need to address racial injustice directly. Her study shows that exposure to Americana music is related to positive assessments of African Americans and political policies seen as helpful to them, which cannot be said of exposure to popular country music and rap music. American roots music is challenging to define. Sub-genres include folk, bluegrass, country, blues, southern rock, rock and roll, jazz, and cowpunk. Americana has become a blanket term to cover music that fits comfortably into each of these genres or incorporates elements from a combination of them. The artists included in Bailey's analysis represent different sub-genres, a wide age range, differing educational backgrounds and geographic regions of the United States, and even international artists playing in the genre. They also represent different career stages, from neophyte to established, with several Grammy and Americana Music Association award nominees and winners included. Common themes established in her interviews with these artists are the importance of narrative, audience loyalty, and the listening environment. Using a theoretical foundation rooted in stereotyping, Bailey suggests that whites with strong negative stereotypes of African Americans will process racial messages conveyed via Americana music more positively than similar messages presented in rap music (i.e., the stereotype-confirming genre). She addresses the culture surrounding the Americana audience, revealing that the listening environment is vital to artists and fans. She shows that artists believe their audiences represent diverse occupational, regional, and socio-economic backgrounds but are more educated and socially aware than the average American. They are also primarily white and left-leaning politically. Addressing the broader implications of her study, Bailey asks whether a hypothetical increase in popularity of or exposure to Americana music would dilute the impact of the inclusivity and tolerance provided in the music"--