200 pages / 6.00 x 9.00 inches / 21 halftones, 5 charts, 3 graphs, 1 map
Music / History and Criticism | Music / Rock | Political Science & Political History
American roots music, also known as Americana music, can be challenging to categorize, spanning the genres of jazz, bluegrass, country, blues, rock and roll, and an assortment of variations in between. In The Downhome Sound, Mandi Bates Bailey explores the messages, artists, community, and appeal of this seemingly disparate musical collective. To understand the art form’s intended meanings and typical audiences, she analyzes lyrics and interviews Americana artists, journalists, and festival organizers to uncover a desire for inclusion and diversity. Bailey also conducts an experiment to assess listener reception relative to more commercial forms of music. The result is an in-depth study of the political and cultural influence of Americana and its implications for social justice.
Mandi Bates Bailey is professor of political science, Africana studies, and women's and gender studies at Valdosta State University.
Guy Davis is a Grammy-nominated traditional blues guitarist.
“Good music is often nebulous and hard to define. Americana is like that, and The Downhome Sound cleverly avoids forcing the music into a tidy category to study it. Instead, Mandi Bates Bailey focuses on messages and the people, the songwriters and those who enjoy our work, to understand how it affects others. We may seldom see the stadiums full of fans that more commercial musicians enjoy, but we know the impact of our craft, and this book demonstrates that impact can extend beyond our loyal fanbases.”—John Paul White, American singer-songwriter and former member of the Grammy Award–winning duo The Civil Wars
“Using a sophisticated mixed-methods approach, Bailey elevates our understanding of Americana music, its culture and community, and the power of roots music on unfamiliar listeners. An excellent read.”—Adolphus G. Belk Jr., coeditor of For the Culture: Hip-Hop and the Fight for Social Justice
“The Downhome Sound is extraordinary in its attention and commitment to drawing attention to Americana’s Black roots. This is an invaluable sourcebook on Americana music and a refreshing read on how it resonates as a quintessentially American experience that was born and bred in rurality, racism, poverty, and resilience.”—H. L. T. Quan, author of Growth against Democracy: Savage Developmentalism in the Modern World
“Drawing from research in social psychology and using an eclectic, mixed-methods approach that combines personal reflections with archival analyses, interviews with artists, and a survey-based experiment, Bailey explores the role that racial stereotypes play in the link between Americana music consumption and political attitudes (and racial attitudes in particular). I specifically appreciate that Bailey pushes against the idea that Americana is the sole province of white ‘hippies’ and ‘cowboys,’ and The Downhome Sound demonstrates that certain racialized messages in the music can even be a vehicle for progressive thinking among its listeners.”—Ray Block Jr., associate professor of political science and African American studies at Pennsylvania State University–University Park
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