I think there's plenty of hope for music. I've lived most of my life in two towns with plenty of way-off mainstream, experimental artists and have played with a few myself.
I just don't think there's hope for labeling a deserving artist as the "new" this or that. And, again, "the new Bob Dylans" have been showing up for over forty years, that's all I'm saying. It's a lazy and inaccurate thing to do and it's a disservice to both the older artist and the younger.
That said, the youngest artists I work with are 12 and 14 and all they want to play is swing and western swing. Nothing wrong with that either. Another young student of mine never wanted to play anything other than Bluegrass. He got a double degree (guitar and mandolin) at Berklee. There's a lot of ways to slice it.
If the music is good is doesn't matter if it's traditional or fresh and inventive in some way. If it's good it's good, if it's bad it's bad.
I just don't think there's hope for labeling a deserving artist as the "new" this or that. And, again, "the new Bob Dylans" have been showing up for over forty years, that's all I'm saying. It's a lazy and inaccurate thing to do and it's a disservice to both the older artist and the younger.
That said, the youngest artists I work with are 12 and 14 and all they want to play is swing and western swing. Nothing wrong with that either. Another young student of mine never wanted to play anything other than Bluegrass. He got a double degree (guitar and mandolin) at Berklee. There's a lot of ways to slice it.
If the music is good is doesn't matter if it's traditional or fresh and inventive in some way. If it's good it's good, if it's bad it's bad.