Americana is an amalgam of
roots music fused by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from
folk,
country,
rhythm & blues,
rock & roll and other external influential styles.Americana is popularly referred to, especially in print, as
alt-country or sometimes
alt.country.
Ann Patchett considers Americana music in Nashville as "the coolest music scene today".