Dashville Skyline 2015 is the brand new Americana-themed music festival set to take over the Hunter Valley this October long weekend, bringing together a sublime collection of the best Americana, country, folk, and western artists Australia and the world have to offer.

Dashville Skyline was put together with a view to embracing the burgeoning Americana music scene in Australia, capturing elements from the movement’s nascent days in the late 1960s and celebrating the great music and culture surrounding modern Americana.

To give punters and Tone Deaf readers a better understanding of just what we mean when we say “Americana”, we’ve decided to put together a quick and handy guide to the some of the essential albums of the genre that every music lover should own.

Bob Dylan – Nashville Skyline (1969)

Dylan was already a legend by the time 1969’s Nashville Skyline came around, having released some of the most timeless albums in the American music canon. For his ninth studio album, the icon threw a curve ball. Abdicating the throne as the US’ resident protest singer, Dylan unveiled an album of shimmering yet simple country music, harking back to the Southern songsmiths of days past.

Neil Young – After The Gold Rush (1970)

Released at what critics describe as arguably the legendary Canadian songwriter’s creative peak, After the Gold Rush was unveiled to a very lukewarm reception from critics. However, with time critical opinion improved and the album is now considered not only a masterpiece, but a landmark in the development of the Americana sound.

Old 97’s – Too Far to Care (1997)

Old 97’s didn’t waste any time in establishing themselves as a monster of an alt-country band, taking old-school, highwayman-style country and sprucing it up with a distinctly modern, rock and roll edge. The result was Too Far to Care, a classic album of go-for-broke country with razor-sharp guitar licks and pounding rhythms like a runaway train.

Whiskeytown – Stranger’s Almanac (1997)

It was on Whiskeytown’s second album, their 1997 follow-up to the widely acclaimed Faithless Street, with its catchy yet heartfelt tales of broken lives and stepped-on hearts, that the band established themselves a viable alt-country act that wasn’t playing around and cemented Ryan Adams as a talented, young songwriter and potential crossover star.

Uncle Tupelo – No Depression (1990)

Along with Whiskeytown, Uncle Tupelo basically defined what it meant to be an alt-country band and set the mould for modern Americana music. The Belleville, Illinois natives had a simple style that was characterised by raw, jagged indie rock fused with an old-school country twang. Nowhere was this sound better explored than on 1990’s No Depression.

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals – Cold Roses (2005)

While one could make the case that nearly all of Ryan Adams’ discography, from his early work with Whiskeytown to his current work as a solo artist could’ve made this list, his first official release with his signature backing band, The Cardinals, was a marriage made in heaven, pairing Adams’ distinct songwriting with the sharp instrumental chops of the Cardinals.

DASHVILLE SKYLINE 2015

Saturday, 3rd October & Sunday, 4th October 2015
Dashville, Lower Belford NSW
Tickets: Dashville Skyline