New Weird America

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New Weird America describes a psychedelic folk musical movement of the 2000s. The term is generally believed to have been coined by David Keenan in the August 2003 issue of The Wire, following the Brattleboro Free Folk Festival organized by Matt Valentine. It is a play on Greil Marcus's phrase "Old Weird America" as used in his book Invisible Republic, which deals with the lineage connecting the pre-war folk performers on Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music to Bob Dylan and his milieu. The musical style described as New Weird America (NWA) is mainly derived from folk and psychedelic groups of the 1960s and 1970s, including American performers Holy Modal Rounders and English group Pentangle, but it also finds inspiration in such disparate sources as heavy metal, free jazz, electronic music, noise music, tropicália, and early- and mid-20th century American folk music. Another primary inspiration is outsider music, often played by technically naïve (and often socially estranged) musicians, such as The Shaggs, Roky Erickson, and Jandek. Some NWA artists have even garnered criticism for projecting an image of mental instability, exploiting the purity and naïveté of outsider status.
Other genre classifications of similar period and aesthetics are psych folk, acid folk, Naturalismo and freak folk.

Many works of the genre are issued in small editions and distributed independently. The music has been covered extensively by L.A.-based Arthur Magazine, which ran in-depth pieces on Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Animal Collective, and Six Organs of Admittance, released the definitive New Weird America compilation The Golden Apples of the Sun, and curated the ArthurFest (2005) and ArthurBall (2006) and events, featuring a variety of artists from the movement.

New Weird America is not a unified movement; it is a term of convenience used by journalists. Many bands labeled as NWA do not identify with the movement but have been associated with it by the press.

Some bands and musicians classified with this movement include:

Akron Family
Alec K Redfearn
Alela Diane
Animal Collective
Andrew Phillip Tipton
Antony and the Johnsons
Ariel PinkAsa Irons
The Badgers
Baptist Generals
The Bastard Fairies
Bird by Snow
The Blue Humours
Books on the Hoof
Brightblack Morning Light
The Castanets
Cerberus Shoal
Charalambides
Circulatory System
CocoRosieComets on Fire
Crix Crax Crux
Dame Darcy
Danielson Family
David Dondero
Davenport
Deek hoi
Devendra Banhart
Diane Cluck
Diana Darby
Dirty Art Project
Dredd Foole
Entrance
Espers
Eyes and Arms of Smoke
Eric Chenaux
Faun Fables
Feathers
Fern Knight
Flaming Fire
Frog Eyes
Fursaxa
Grant Olney
Gabby La La
The Gossip Queens
Gregory Paul
Hubert Matezl Jr.
The Hypermodernity Club
Iron & Wine
Jack Rose
Jackie-O Motherfucker
Jana Hunter
Jolie Holland
Jonathan Wilson
Josephine Foster
Joanna Newsom
Joshua Burkett
June Madrona
Lavender Diamond
Live Your Dreams Stay off Drugs
Major Stars
Marissa Nadler
Michael Holland
The Microphones / Mount Eerie
Mirah
The Mountain Goats
The MV & EE Medicine Show
Nehl Cloete
No-Neck Blues Band
Old Time Relijun
Portable Folk Band
Pothole Skinny
Raven Mayhem
Red Favorite
Rivers & Mountains
Scorces
Six Organs of Admittance
Sore Eros
Subtonic Monks
Sunburned Hand of the Man
TarpTin
Tree Factory
Tony Ortega/Orem(the sink)
Tower Recordings
Town & Country
Vashti Bunyan
Vetiver
Vortex Rex
Wayne Rogers
Will Oldham
We the Royal
Winter Flowers
Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice