I grew up singing Ray Charles and Jimmy Reed.
I had a great conversation with Tom Waits, of all people.
My dad was a huge Bob Dylan fan, so we listened to his music, Cat Stevens, Simon & Garfunkel, and all that kind of stuff.
My country stuff, it might sound like Hank Williams - that's just the way it is. But I'd rather sound like Hank Williams than Trace Atkins.
I don't really have a favorite bass player. I listen to a lot of bluegrass. But then again, I'm not a typical bluegrass bass player. I was really into the Grateful Dead, and I still am - I don't listen to them too much, but for me they are a big influence.
I was down with Lucinda Williams and Mary Chapin-Carpenter. We did an acoustic tour, just the three of us, three chicks and three guitars.
My folks were and are devoted public radio fans, who started listening to 'A Prairie Home Companion' in the 1980s; Garrison and Co. were the permanent headliners of their weekends.
I came late to the genre of folk music.
My favorite Bob Dylan record is the very first one where he sings one Bob Dylan song and the rest of them are his interpretations of the Dust Bowl-era folk songs, or even going back as far as the mass influx of people coming into the U.S. during the gold rush. His interpretations of those songs are incredible.
When I was in Utah there, first learning the kind of music I love, my favorite singer was T. Texas Tyler. So my friend, Norman Ritchie, the traveling teenage sage, started calling me U. Utah Phillips.
My favorite bands are Hank Williams Jr. and Led Zeppelin. When it's rock, it's '70s rock, and when it's country, it's '70s country. For me, it's the grit and dirt of music that I love so much.
I remember having a lot of Josh White albums. Johnny Cash. Elvis. I loved the Coasters.
Patty Griffin is iconic, and there's no other word to really describe her. She is iconic for a lot of people - not only for me but for a lot of fans. Her voice is one of a kind, and she's such an important figure in the American music scene.
First I was a European-style player, then I was a downtown 'noise guy,' and now some people call me an Americana guy.
Since the beginning, the people of the college and I have agreed that the music of MerleFest is 'traditional plus.'
I love Bob Dylan. 'Blood on the Tracks' is one of my top five records.
Willie Nelson is not just a star or a headliner, he's a legend.
I love Muddy Waters and Nina Simone. I also watched 'The Blues Brothers' movie over and over.
I love a lot of the '70s musicians, like Bonnie Raitt. And I love Sheryl Crow. But probably my favorite musician is a woman by the name of Schuyler Fisk.
I call myself a singer-songwriter influenced by the gospel and jazz tradition. Naturally, because of my lifestyle and love for nature, there's a lot of folk and Americana there because that's just my life.
Derek Trucks is a real good new artist. He's a young guy.
Two of my favorite bands, Blackberry Smoke and Black Stone Cherry, I just think both of those bands are a good new progressive kind of Southern Rock that's a little different than us but still has a rootsy thing going on.
I don't really listen to pop-country, but I like really, really old country that's closer to folk. Like Johnny Cash, who is considered country.
I was always sort of mystified and excited about the world of country music. Something about it struck me as enchanted.
I never get tired of exploring Americana or country music, and I always have a little bit of a crooner in me that never seems to go away.
