Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Charlie
Does Gillian Welch pass as country, or is she considered bluegrass? Regardless, this is a bit special:
Those streaming lyrics, man, you could spend a lifetime interpreting them.
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Gillian Welch is a most unusual musician. She was born in Manhattan and moved to L.A. as a child when her parents became writers on the Carol Burnett Show. But she sings and writes music like she's from Appalachian coal mining town in West Virginia.
We used to go see her play at coffee houses in Boston and I used to think she was the real thing, until I found out she was a student at Berklee School of Music. Authentic or not, I still love her music and own every one of her albums.
I'm not sure if I'd call her bluegrass because she doesn't perform with a traditional Bill Monroe-style bluegrass band (
with fiddle, dobro, & mandolin). From my perspective Gillian is more a part of the
Americana genre, which is small group of self styled indie country artists like Lana Cantrell, John Prine, Iris DeMent, Robbie Fulks, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle other artist associated more with the Austin scene rather than the Nashville scene.