Hungrytown

Granted, the name Hungrytown suggests a Third-World municipality desperate for charitable donations. But it's actually the handle for a husband-wife duo that purveys honest-to-goodness, down-home folk songs with an authentic old-time flair. Cast with fiddles, mandolins, banjos, bluegrass, and balladry, their self-titled debut boasts a rustic back porch feel that evokes the sounds of traditional Americana. Wife Rebecca Hall boasts two previous solo albums, while hubby Ken Anderson takes the role of musical wunderkind by crafting all the arrangements and handling the bulk of the instrumental duties.

Aside from accumulating accolades, including kudos from ex-Byrd Roger McGuinn, the couple sows organic authenticity at every opportunity. They co-op communal style with another folkie duo called the Kennedys in a starry-eyed amalgam known as the Strangelings and record most off their music in idyllic, out-of-the-way settings. They also travel the far roads of the heartland in a fuel-efficient, solar-paneled camper van that doubles as a mobile office, studio, and home away from home. That vagabond attitude and freewheeling mentality lend a hint of hippiedom to Hungrytown, and ultimately that's part of the band's appeal.