Your favorite artists from various states/countries

[murlough23]

I made a list like this at CMC once, but it only covered CCM musicians. Who are your favorite artists from each state? What about the ones from Canada or the UK, what part of the country are they from? What about international artists? List up to three for each location in which you can come up with at least one.

Sometimes determining where an artist is "from" is a bit nebulous - it could be their birthplace if they're a solo artist, or the place where a band formed, or the place where an artist currently resides or bases their career. For example, Dave Matthews was born in South Africa but the DMB is from Virginia, so he could go under either one. Feel free to manipulate this rule if it enables you to fill in a blank category.

(Obviously, a few of the ones on my list are just there by default because I can't name any others from their state/country who I like at least a few songs by. And yeah, good luck with most of Canada.)

UNITED STATES
Alabama: Remy Zero, 4Him
Alaska: Jewel (I guess!)
Arizona: Jimmy Eat World, Michelle Branch
Arkansas: Deas Vail, Evanescence
California: Vienna Teng, Switchfoot, Nickel Creek
Colorado: Chasing Furies, Five Iron Frenzy
Connecticut: John Mayer
Delaware
District of Columbia: Vertical Horizon
Florida: Anberlin, Copeland, Iron & Wine
Georgia: Snowden, Third Day, Collective Soul
Hawaii: Olivia the Band, Jack Johnson
Idaho
Illinois: Jars of Clay, Sleeping at Last, The Normals
Indiana: Plumb, The Elms, Rich Mullins
Iowa: 38th Parallel
Kansas: Jennifer Knapp
Kentucky: Steven Curtis Chapman, Audio Adrenaline
Louisiana: Mute Math, Earthsuit
Maine
Maryland: Chris Rice, Erin O'Donnell
Massachusetts: Out of the Grey
Michigan: Sufjan Stevens, Anathallo, Kevin Max
Minnesota: PfR, Sara Groves
Mississippi: Wavorly
Missouri: Matt Wertz
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada: The Killers
New Hampshire
New Jersey: Robert Randolph & the Family Band
New Mexico: The Echoing Green, Fernando Ortega
New York: Steven Delopoulos/Burlap to Cashmere, Dream Theater
North Carolina: He Is Legend
North Dakota
Ohio: Relient K, Over the Rhine, John Reuben
Oklahoma: The Flaming Lips
Oregon: Falling Up, Five O'Clock People, The W's
Pennsylvania: The Juliana Theory, Christine Dente, Matisyahu
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee: Cindy Morgan, Andrew Peterson, Derek Webb
Texas: Caedmon's Call, Sixpence None the Richer, Eisley
Utah: Meg & Dia
Vermont
Virginia: dc Talk, Dave Matthews Band, Mae
Washington: The Listening, Pearl Jam, Modest Mouse
West Virginia: Michael W. Smith, Seven Day Jesus
Wisconsin: Skillet
Wyoming

CANADA
Alberta
British Columbia: Dakona
Manitoba: Starfield
New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador
Northwest Territories
Nova Scotia: Sarah MacLachlan
Nunavut
Ontario: Barenaked Ladies, Alanis Morissette, Ron Sexsmith
Prince Edward Island
Quebec: The Kry
Saskatchewan: Downhere
Yukon

UNITED KINGDOM:
England: Iona, Radiohead, Coldplay, Delirious?
Northern Ireland
Scotland: KT Tunstall
Wales

INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Michelle Tumes, Newsboys, Rebecca St. James, Beanbag
Iceland: Bjork, Sigur Ros
Ireland: U2, The Corrs
New Zealand: Phil Joel
Singapore: Corrinne May
South Africa: The Benjamin Gate, Tree63
Sri Lanka: M.I.A.
Sweden: Blindside

[Wildcatblue7]

Forgetting U2, there?

[murlough23]

Forgetting U2, there?

Um... no. See Ireland.

[enemy anemone]

California: Gillian Welch, Eleni Mandell, Ferraby Lionheart*, Tom Waits, The Violet Burning (too many, but everybody is from here; what can I do?)
Ohio: Kim Taylor**, Over the Rhine
Texas: Julie Miller, Patty Griffin***

*articles have stated he is from Nashville but he was born in Los Angeles and is now residing in Los Angeles.
**originally from Florida but now based in Ohio.
***I think she in Austin now but originally from Maine

...I don't know how to do this...will keep trying...

Alabama: Emmylou Harris
Virginia: Neko Case
Illinois: Andrew Bird
New York: Old Crow Medicine Show, Bela Fleck
Louisiana: Mary Gauthier
England (Sheffield): Richard Hawley (artists from Sheffield always specify that they're from Sheffield, I don't know why.)
France: Yo Yo Ma (okay I did not know he was born in France.)
New Zealand: The Brunettes

this is too hard. I don't know where people are from and when I look up info, I get distracted with other factoids. I was going to organize this better but I will just post it as-is to show how I tried and failed.

[murlough23]

Yeah, this is one of those things that you'd probably have to construct over time, because doing it all at once would be a bit time consuming. I was able to do it because I was looking up where a lot of my favorites were from for other reasons and thought to keep a list for future reference. I'm just nerdy that way, and I look things up in Wikipedia far too often.

Mostly, I'm interested in seeing if anyone can fill in a state that I'm missing.

[enemy anemone]

Mostly, I'm interested in seeing if anyone can fill in a state that I'm missing.

okay, I can do this. I got two.

Maine: Patty Griffin
Nebraska: Bright Eyes (I don't really like them that much, but who else is from Nebraska?)

[murlough23]

OK, I'm really impressed that you got Maine.

I know Phish is from Vermont, but I never got into Phish.

[Aaron]

Some members of Decemberists are originally from Montana as is Jeff Ament from Pearl Jam.

[Brenden]

Ray Lamontagne is from NH.

[Aaron]

Ray Lamontagne is from NH.

He's freaking great.

Massachusetts/Vermont/New Hampshire - Dispatch & Guster

[murlough23]

Ray Lamontagne is from NH.

Who?

I'm not sure if individual members of bands should count unless those members have a solo career. But whatever, there are no "rules", it's mostly a trivia game anyway.

[Brenden]

Who?

He's a critically acclaimed folk artist with a distinctive sound that blends a soulful voice with great string arrangements and syncopated guitar with poetic lyrics. You'd like him.

[enemy anemone]

I'm glad I could impress you with Maine. she mentions Bangor in one of her songs, which adds weight to her Maine-ness. 

now I'm just going through winamp and looking up artists who might be from somewhere interesting. I figure I might as well post them. please note that these are not necessarily favorite artists; I just have some of their music.

Arizona: Linda Ronstadt
Georgia: Chan Marshall (Cat Power)
Kansas: Melissa Etheridge
Massachusetts: Melissa Ferrick
Nevada: Jenny Lewis
North Carolina: Ryan Adams
Oklahoma: Woodie Guthrie
Pennsylvania: The Innocence Mission
Virginia: Rachael Yamagata
Wisconsin: The Violent Femmes

Canada (Quebec): Leonard Cohen
Canada (Nova Scotia): Feist, Natalie MacMaster
Canada (Manitoba): Holly McNarland

Argentina: Ástor Piazzolla
Australia (Victoria): Nick Cave
Belgium: Django Reinhardt
Brazil: Paul Galbraith (orig. from Scotland but now in Brazil.)
England (Norfolk): Beth Orton
Germany (Black Forest): Thomm Jutz
Germany (Bavaria): Claudia Koreck
Germany (Frankfurt): Klaus Badelt
Northern Ireland (Belfast): James Galway
St. Kitts: Joan Armatrading
Scotland (Glasgow): Mark Knopfler, Belle and Sebastian, David Russell
Spain: Andrés Segovia

[Aaron]

I know Neko Case was born in Virginia but she's lived most of her life in Tacoma, Washington so I consider her to be from the Pacific Northwest.

[enemy anemone]

I was looking up Antje Duvekot and found that she was born in Germany and is based in Boston now, but she began recording and performing in Delaware.

I used to be under the impression that Neko Case is Canadian. her wiki page says she has been called an honorary Canadian. she's also lived in Chicago and Tuscon but yeah, she considers Tacoma her hometown.

[Aaron]

I was looking up Antje Duvekot and found that she was born in Germany and is based in Boston now, but she began recording and performing in Delaware.

I used to be under the impression that Neko Case is Canadian. her wiki page says she has been called an honorary Canadian. she's also lived in Chicago and Tuscon but yeah, she considers Tacoma her hometown.

She's an honorary Canadian for all her musical work in The New Pornographers.

[Wildcatblue7]

Um... no. See Ireland.

Oops.  I thought for some reason they were from Northern Ireland.  And I tend to think of Ireland as part of the UK, even though I know it technically isn't.  Hence...didn't even read the int'l part.

[murlough23]

Oops.  I thought for some reason they were from Northern Ireland.

Probably due to it being the focal point of one of their favorite political issues to carry on about.

And I tend to think of Ireland as part of the UK

LOL. Now we know how Wildcat is going to die - thrown through a brick wall by an angry Irishman.

[Wildcatblue7]

LOL. Now we know how Wildcat is going to die - thrown through a brick wall by an angry Irishman.

Yeah, I don't tell people about my geographical deficiencies.  haha.

[bloop]

Yeah, honestly, this is going to be a tough thread for me to participate.  I would have to figure out which artists I would want to include (that I haven't seen so far) and then look up where they're from because I simply don't know for many of them.

[RedcoatJones]

Maybe easier to brag on artists that are from your state/city/locale?

Being a native Georgian, I have many favorites from here:
REM, Allman Brothers, James Brown, Third Day (old Third Day anyway), Drive By Truckers, Cat Power, Neutral Milk Hotel, Mars Ill, Outkast, Indigo Girls, Vigilantes of Love, Soul Miner's Daughter (former band of Jennifer Nettles, who's now in Sugarland), Smalltown Poets (well...I liked em in high school ... they kind of disappeared).

[murlough23]

Maybe easier to brag on artists that are from your state/city/locale?

Dude, that would take me forever. It was hard enough limiting my California list to three. Maybe that's why I find it more interesting to brag on artists from other locales. or maybe I just like to overly complicate things. Whatever.

NP: "The Moon Is a Magnet", Jon Foreman

[Aaron]

Maybe easier to brag on artists that are from your state/city/locale?

Being a native Georgian, I have many favorites from here:
REM, Allman Brothers, James Brown, Third Day (old Third Day anyway), Drive By Truckers, Cat Power, Neutral Milk Hotel, Mars Ill, Outkast, Indigo Girls, Vigilantes of Love, Soul Miner's Daughter (former band of Jennifer Nettles, who's now in Sugarland), Smalltown Poets (well...I liked em in high school ... they kind of disappeared).

Smalltown Poets is reuniting to record a new album this year.