Americana

Meanings

nounAmericana pl (plural only)

pluralplural onlyAll things peculiar to the culture and people of the United States; anything that is a symbol of American life.
The Clovis Limit, her shop in Portobello Road, dealt exclusively in Americana.
2014, William Gibson, “The Clovis Limit”, in The Peripheral, G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN
2 more examples
Today Coke exists as nostalgic brand, harking back to the day when the drink enjoyed its peak iconic stature. Coke now stands for 1950s Americana.
2004, D. B. Holt, How Brands Become Icons, Harvard Business Press, →ISBN, page 27
Recycling Americana through predigested pop culture makes Monster Trucks seem indebted to Amblin movies of the ’80s, by way of the boy-and-his-car riff on those same movies Michael Bay half-assedly performed in the first Transformers.
2017 January 12, Jesse Hassenger, “A literal monster truck is far from the stupidest thing about Monster Trucks”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 17 Jul 2017
pluralplural onlyentertainmentAn amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles.
A quarter-century later, the Band’s music provided a key template for the acts first labeled Americana, including Son Volt, Wilco and Lucinda Williams, as well as for their sonic heirs.
[2023 August 9, “Robbie Robertson, 80, Dies; Canadian Songwriter Captured American Spirit”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 30 Aug 2023
1 more example
The music that became Americana crossed racial lines very early, becoming one of the major integrating forces in America. The chapter shows how artists such as Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers were creating and playing Americana long before we had a name for what they were doing.
2017, Michael Scott Cain, The Americana Revolution, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page xxx
Synonyms: alternative country, alt-country

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles.

Similar

alternative country alt-country