I looked up this article when I saw a quote from it in a recent review of the new Anna & Elizabeth recording, which, as Brian says, drew on the Flanders song collection, something new for them, even though Anna is from Vermont.

The quote that was chosen included the couple of sentences about the "heritage not hate" promotion of southern culture. That was a new interpretation for me (as a northerner who has been known to complain about northern folk music sources being ignored), and seemed kind of provocative. I'm not sure that I buy it.

The author, who is from South Dakota, is now based in Los Angeles and doing his doctoral dissertation on "a history of American Indian engagements with recording and radio technologies between 1890 and 1970". So, his particular gripe is no doubt founded in that interest.

I think that I agree that for English-language song, and certainly instrumental music that's superficially labeled "Americana" or "American roots", on sheer numbers of recordings, and probably several other measures, the winner would be southeastern in some form (maybe stretched to Texas). For the folklorists' part in this, we can probably blame it on Professor Child. ;-)

~ Becky in Long Beach