Thanks, Pinetop, you beat me to it!

Russ, I haven't seen Songcatcher yet, but it looks like they put more thought into the soundtrack, since of course the soundtrack is even more of the point of the movie than OBWAT's. (But likely Songcatcher won't have as a wide an audience and impact as OBWAT.) The interesting thing about OBWAT is that for the CD release, in some cases they used different performers (those named above) than were heard in the actual movie. And the only way to get to those people's names is by sitting in the theater thru the end of the credits...

Maybe I'm just overly defensive, and if it sounds good and gets the music out there, then it's o.k., but I keep thinking it might be nice to put some of those great but less familiar folks out there...

There are more names that I don't recognize on the Songcatcher list, which I suspect means they're more hardcore. Other than the big commercial names, and Hazel Dickens (who's a big name to folkies), I only recognize Bobby McMillon from encountering him on staff at CDSS's Pinewoods Folk Music Week last year. (Thanks, Sara Grey!)

Is Deana Carter a member of The Family? Anyone know any of the other folks and can enlighten me?

And, perhaps little catty of me, having not heard him: was Taj Mahal included only for the ethnic diversity category, or does he have any prior clawhammer banjo experience? and is a blues style appropriate to the mountain setting of Songcatcher?

And, to submit names in general, in the category of "contemporary trad. Appalachian singers/players" here are a couple I can think of:

Mike Seeger - any flavor banjo playing you need, to say nothing of other instruments and singing. Here.

Rayna Gellert - a young North Carolinian and the current vocalist with the Freight Hoppers also touring as a duo with Frank Lee. Plays fiddle and sings. She can do wonderful things with an unaccompanied song, though she spends more time with the string band era stuff. See this site.

~ Becky in Tucson