Young America always finds itself returning to the ways of generations past, most particularly adherents of "roots music." The bards of the new generation are definitely adherin' and redefinin', but is there any way to define a genre once associated solely with Southern acoustic traditions? Bands like the Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons are on the rise, and festivals like Newport Folk and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass maintain cultural importance. But Pitchfork shuns these bands, while Spin Magazine declares "There's An Americana Revolution Goin' On". Does Americana of today speak to a modern ideal of populism or is it insincere? Are these acts just idealizing a past of box-car hopping, whiskey-drenched hootenannies, The Band or Gram Parsons records, and making the masses think they are "for real"?