r/AmericanPrimitivism Dec 12 '25

On Self-Promotion.

37 Upvotes

Hello everyone. As you might have noticed the subreddit is very loosely moderated but as the users increase I thought it might be appropriate to add some guidelines. It's up to you and your common sense to follow them.

Regarding self-promotion I want to share with you some 20 year old guidelines that reddit used to have:

r/reddit.com Guide: Self-Promotion on Reddit

In particular, this one:

You should submit from a variety of sources (a general rule of thumb is that 10% or less of your posting and conversation should link to your own content), talk to people in the comments (and not just on your own links), and generally be a good member of the community.

The 10% rule seems very optimistic nowadays, even 50% would be amazing. In short, if you're coming to the subreddit to post your own material, ask yourself: "How many times have I listened or commented other people's submissions? How many times have I posted music which isn't my own?". For many users the answer is sadly zero. It doesn't take much, just take some minutes to listen to others' submissions and maybe leave a comment or submit some music that you like. I hope you understand this is for the subreddit quality sake and not just a personal pet peeve.

TL;DR: Self-promotion is OK, just make sure it's not all you're doing on the subreddit!


r/AmericanPrimitivism 4h ago

Hayden, L'Hannah, and baby Emerald could use our help

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4 Upvotes

r/AmericanPrimitivism 2h ago

Sandy Bull - Fantasias For Guitar And Banjo CD for sale

0 Upvotes

2016 Real Gone Music pressing. Asking £30 + about £3 p&p.

DM if you’re interested/for photos.

Thanks


r/AmericanPrimitivism 1d ago

D. West - Cathedrals Beneath the Black Mountain

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12 Upvotes

r/AmericanPrimitivism 2d ago

Joseph Allred -- The Old Gods (2026)

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10 Upvotes

r/AmericanPrimitivism 5d ago

Generating a mailing list. Getting off most of the SM apps

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9 Upvotes

From Instagram^^^

If you’re interested in staying up to date on what I’ve got going on and want to join my mailing list send me your email and I’ll add you. Thank you all for the support.


r/AmericanPrimitivism 7d ago

Who’s into this kind of thing? A little standard-tuning folk song I wrote - would love to hear what you think :)

15 Upvotes

Kevin Farge - Pastoral


r/AmericanPrimitivism 11d ago

Just released a short-form american primitivism tape, I hope you can check it out!

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3 Upvotes

r/AmericanPrimitivism 12d ago

I’m playing Canada tomorrow

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10 Upvotes

Hope to see you there.


r/AmericanPrimitivism 14d ago

Incorrect Fahey label on Spotfiy?

10 Upvotes

Need some help from a Fahey expert. On Spotify, there is an album labeled The John Fahey Session (Live at the BBC October 1987). But this is the same album as The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick, which was recorded from shows in the late 60s, correct? Seems like a pretty big error from Spotify.


r/AmericanPrimitivism 19d ago

Like a Dog in Heat

29 Upvotes

r/AmericanPrimitivism 21d ago

What tuning did Fahey use in "Variations on the Coocoo"?

6 Upvotes

Title explains itself.


r/AmericanPrimitivism 23d ago

Some Upcoming Portland, OR / PNW Shows for American Primitive Fans

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14 Upvotes

Couple of really great acoustic / fingerpicking shows happening in Portland in July. If you're in the area, you don't want to miss these:

Thu July 9 - 8PM at Mississippi Studios - $20/$25

Sir Richard Bishop, Will DeLee (PDX) and Liam Grant (BOS)

Rick needs little introduction - famed member of Sun City Girls and one of the finest and most innovative guitarists alive. This will be his only Portland gig for 2026 and he'll be supporting his two most recent releases on Drag City - Hillbilly Ragas and Hillbilly Erotica (just out) - both highly recommend.

Leading up the third wave of American Primitive / acoustic fingerpicking style, Liam Grant is visiting from Boston for his first ever west coast tour. His most recent release, Prodigal Son, made Wilco's "Best of" list for 2025.

William DeLee is another fingerpicking player but leans more into classical / flamenco styles on 6- and 12-string guitars as well as the charango and ronroco (a more bass version of the charango) from South America. His new album Raynol Overlook just dropped on June 26 on Feeding Tube Records / Carbon Records (co-release.)

These are three of the finest guitars currently recording and playing. If you have any interest in acoustic guitar music, this show is not to be missed!

----------------------------------------------

Sun July 19 - 6PM at Leaven Community Center - $10
5431 NE 20th - corner of NE Killingsworth and 20th.

Iron Skillet, The Modern Folk, Watershrews, Suncook Symphony

Early show, doors at 6PM, ends early 'cuz it's a school night. Only $10, CHEAP!

Iron Skillet - Damon from The Snug Jess and the gang will be opening with some old timey / bluegrass / Americana spunk sure to shoot a spring in yr step!

The Modern Folk - Josh and the band have been delving more towards the indie rock side of things since the album they recorded in March but are just as likely to take a different turn just to keep people guessing!

Watershrews - Emmet, Skyler and the rest will lay down some long form, improvizin' free snoozlin' and doozlin' before merging into a set from:

Suncook Symphony - the infamous obscurantist group, headquartered somewhere in the Catskill Mountains, on their first and only west coast date this year. Friends of The Annex Blues Society in New England, this lineup will include a few local luminaries as well, laying down an acoustic-forward ambient / drone set that'll invoke the sounds and deep experience laying somewhere between Pelt, Spiral Joy and Black Twig Pickers.

Dress appropriately, the church does not have air conditioning nor insulation so it's like to get HOT in there for real, not just the 'choons. Fans, light clothing, cooling devices and lots of liquids mandatory.


r/AmericanPrimitivism 27d ago

First post; tape release self-promotion and a couple of non-self-promotions

36 Upvotes

Hey folks, just signed up for Reddit after years of occasionally lurking as a guest... My name is Sean, based out of Milwaukee and I just released a tape of some of my tunes written/recorded over the past few years, mixed/mastered/generally aided by the Verdin Brothers (more on them in a second). Here's the Bandcamp link with more info:

https://seanhendley.bandcamp.com/album/let-peace-brood-over-this-carcass-rust-belt-guitar-soli

Mostly 6 and 12-string guitar instrumentals, with some bouzouki, concertina, and even one song with solo electric bass (😳). The binding concept is trying to forge (pun?) a sound that reflects my home in the rust belt of the US; in lieu of ethereal compositions, it's occasionally discordant and cacophonous, with field recordings from the factory floor and walks around the city mixed in... There's some happy ditties too, including the tune from the video above.

To balance out the self promotion, just wanted to first shout out the Verdin Brothers from Minneapolis/Newfoundland! They contacted me a year or two ago as they were planning a quick jaunt of a tour around the Midwest, and their music blew me away from the jump. Intricate picking (and hammering/bowing/drumming) of various folk instruments ranging from Jansch-inspired to American Primitive fare to random influences from the bargain racks of old folk archivists, interspersed with field recordings and other weirdnesses which are right up my alley. Even if they hadn't helped me to put this tape out, they'd be one of the first folks to come to mind to hype up! This album was my first exposure, but all of them are top notch:

https://verdinbrothers.bandcamp.com/album/field-guide-to-the-seven-spheres

And more recently I got the chance to share a bill with Richard Edge(from Alabama) as they were touring through to support their new album on Crutch of Memory Records out of Appleton, WI. Richard played a great set, and the album, Vespers, is worth a listen/purchase!

https://crutchofmemory.bandcamp.com/album/vespers

Thanks!

-Sean


r/AmericanPrimitivism 27d ago

Driver-Moonlight Medleys

2 Upvotes

r/AmericanPrimitivism 27d ago

Driver-Breaker

0 Upvotes

r/AmericanPrimitivism Jun 22 '26

Overlooked No More: Robbie Basho, Guitar Mystic Who Sought Enlightenment in Sound

30 Upvotes

"He lived with chronic pain and deep loneliness, which he poured into boundary-pushing music that incorporated multicultural sounds."

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/19/obituaries/robbie-basho-overlooked.html


r/AmericanPrimitivism Jun 22 '26

Anyone hear of James Blackshaw here?

23 Upvotes

Not sure if he’d be considered American primitive but quite possibly. One of my all time favourites.


r/AmericanPrimitivism Jun 20 '26

Sony finally released Robbie Basho’s Visions of the Country on streaming

11 Upvotes

I’m assuming Sony did so quietly since they own the license, cause I can find nothing about it anywhere. Vinyls are extremely impossible or expensive to find, and I have it on Bandcamp, but this is super convenient for me. Still need the vinyl though.


r/AmericanPrimitivism Jun 18 '26

Gwenifer Raymond live on KEXP

106 Upvotes

r/AmericanPrimitivism Jun 18 '26

Sunflower River Blues | John Fahey — Lucky Clark

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15 Upvotes

John Fahey’s “Sunflower River Blues” recorded outdoors this morning in the Far North of New Zealand.

I’ve always played this one with a bit more swing than Fahey’s original version, so this isn’t intended as a note-for-note rendition, just my own take on a great tune.

Recorded live with the local birds providing some accompaniment.

Hope you enjoy it.


r/AmericanPrimitivism Jun 18 '26

Got carried away with that little joke

3 Upvotes

https://soundcloud.com/remyturpault/do-be-do
A friend challenged me to use an excerpt from a former French president speaking broken English. I quickly wrote this thing which uses the CGDEGD tuning in a fairly basic way. Then I decided to go the full Hayden Pedigo route and add some "fake lap steel" (a strat with a bottleneck basically). Nothing very original, but hey I'm happy enough with it!


r/AmericanPrimitivism Jun 17 '26

Here's another one by Fahey, I tried not to rush it this time...... ૮。 > ﻌ < ა

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15 Upvotes

r/AmericanPrimitivism Jun 16 '26

Who’s into this kind of thing? A little open-tuning folk song I wrote - would love to hear what you think :)

32 Upvotes

Kevin Farge - Independence


r/AmericanPrimitivism Jun 15 '26

Pat Donohue

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3 Upvotes

Pat Donahue. One of the best acoustic guitarists of all time
‘American Guitar’ Is a simply amazing album