Crossover

NPR had an article this morning on cross sounds in country music. Big names like Eric Church and Blake Shelton were mentioned as was this song by Jason Aldean:



Yeah, he breaks into rap after about a minute! Of course what comes to my mind is Charlie Daniels and "The Devil went down to Georgia" and what amounted to rap for each verse (he did sing the refrain).

Several years ago when I was putting together bluegrass events at church as bridge events, I had a note by post after one event. "I don't know what you would call it, " referring to Old School Freight Train's set, "but it certainly wasn't bluegrass music." It was definitely bluegrass, but just not your grandfather's bluegrass. OSFT opened shortly thereafter for a major, major act in Nashville, their big breakout performance.



I heard of Mumford and Sons right after they were in Asheville on tour back in spring. Rock + Celtic. This version leaves out (it's just a dead gap) the "dirty word." It's easy enough to find versions of the video that include the complete lyric.



Then the youth used this song by Ben Harper in their photo montage for Summer Mission Sunday last week. African percussion, vocal harmonies, and a little bit of plinky piano, that screamed section about 3/4 way through, a little bit of Delta blues guitar work. Of course, he kind of gives it away in the opening of the video when he walks into a world musical instrument store!



I think one of the best things happening in music these days is the cross-fertilization, or synthesis, or fusion or whatever you want to call it. There's plenty of room for "pure" examples of a genre, but I think growth is happening where the edges blur together. It's been said that JS Bach himself didn't "create" anything new in the baroque sound, he merely synthesized (incredibly) strands that were in the air so to speak. Enjoy!