How far does great music carry?
I have always felt that despite living in a connected world, there are many great artists, unknown outside there own country. This is particularly true for those of us, not in the US. It is such an enormous marketplace, that I am always finding US Singer Songwriters, Blues artists,etc, that I have'nt heard of. Audiophiles are a self selected group who ought to be able to find hidden gems in any country, but I am sure there are countless American musicians who have never made an impact in Europe. That is partly why I go to shows, to look out for new Artists I should know about.
It is very difficult for you guys in the US to know, what I don't know, but how about listing some new or below the radar artists, groups, I may not know about? I will start the ball rolling with a few you may not be aware about, here in the UK. Forgive me if I am insulting you with names, very famiar to you.
Transatlantic Sessions: Not a group but an annual get together of US and UK Folk Artists, that produces some great music and has had many great guests over the years. The guests include Eric Bibb, John Martyn, Rhiannon Giddens, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Alison Krauss.
The leaders from the Uk and Us, have always been Aly Mcbain and Jerry Douglas.
Why they have never toured the US, I don't know, perhaps because they only meet for a week+ and do two or three concerts. They do one or two CDs/DVDs of each years meeting, all are worth hunting out on Amazon.
Kate Rusby: A wonderful English Folk Singer, writer, all her many CDs are worth a listen.
Cara Dillon: Another Folk Singer with a lovely voice. She was one of the guests on the last Transatlantic Sessions I went to.
So have any of you got some little known music, evveryone should know about?