Alana Amram's songs could belong to a different era. Wielding a vocal authority that feels very Patti Smith, Amram deftly crafts narrative lyrics that paint images ranging from pastoral to wild - but always a far cry from the brick and bustle of Brooklyn where the songwriter currently resides. The sound is Americana by way of late 60's psych-tinged folk, and is ever-present on her spellbinding 2014 release Spring River. Catch her at Union Pool on August 4th or headlining at the Cake Shop with Ian O'neill of Deertick, Reservations, and Heaven's Jail on August 31st, and be sure to listen to the track below. - Olivia Sisinni

We added this song to The Deli's playlist of Best rootsy songs by emerging NYC artists - check it out!

This is the category gathering NYC based bands who play roots music in all its traditional glory. Or at least that's what we intended it to be - a couple of bands in the list (namely, Sewing Machines and The Balboans) obviously mis-categorized themselves when submitting for this poll...

Total Submissions in this category: 23

Artists Qualified to the Poll's Next Stage (starting soon):

1. Swear and Shake - 8.16 (out of 10)
2. The Ludlow Thieves - 7.66
3. The Courtesy Tier - 7.5

Honorable Mentions (score above 7):

Sewing Machines, The Balboans, Ten Ton Man, Runaway Dorothy, Zak Smith, Mail the Horse, Alana Amram & the Rough Gems, Kayleigh Goldsworthy, David King + The Confirmed Bachelors, Elijah Ocean, This Old Ghost, Thomas Bryan Eaton.

Jurors: Ben Toledo (Deli Portland), Jacqueline Caruso (Deli LA), QD Tran (Deli Philly)

The Deli' Staff