Read Kayla Hay's Diary her CMJ Music Marathon Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3 - Day 4 - Day 5.

At The Deli, we define “Alt Rootsy” or "Alt Folk" those artists that have a basis in American roots music yet manage to somehow veer off its traditional ways - hence the picture above.

Total submissions in this category: 38

Artists Qualified to the Poll's Next Stage (starting around 01.15):

1. Great Elk - 7.833 (out of 10)
2. Sorcha Richardson - 7.33
3. Derrick and the Black Sea - 7.16

Honorable Mentions (scores about 6.5):

Ben Pagano, Howth, Robin's Egg Blue, Tall Tall Trees, Everest Cale, Cole Williams, Nightmare River Band, XNY, Tess, Dan and Rachel, Erez and The End, Philip Lynch.

Jurors: Chrissy Prisco (Deli New England), Lucy Sherman (Deli Contributor), QD Tran (Deli Philadelphia)

The Deli's Staff

The second best thing about the CMJ Music Marathon, after of course the opportunity to see tons of great bands for five straight nights in the greatest city for music, is the process of sorting through the seemingly endless list of bands in order to meticulously plan your personal schedule down to the minute. That feeling of invincibility concerning the laws of time and space is an awful like the one you get when you develop grand plans to start exercising and working out. That brief sensation of euphoria lasts right up to the minute you told yourself you were going to start. Then you realize you already walked something like three flights of stairs that day, so really there’s no need to exercise. - read the full report here. - (in the picture, Blonds)

For the past decade, Brett Treacy, Jeremy Kolmin and Aaron Nystrup’s paths have crossed, diverged, reunited and evolved, leading the college friends from South Carolina to New York. In 2010, Treacy (vocals, guitar) began focusing on his original material, and he expanded and matured that sound by involving in the project Kolmin (guitar), Nystrup (bass), Nate Becker (drums) and Ryan Roets (keys, vocals). Everest Cale was born, with each member’s own talents building on Treacy’s foundations.. Infused with classic rock influences, with enough of a modern twist to keep things from ever sounding stale, the band’s dynamic indie rock sound walks the line between fresh and familiar. See them live at Spike Hill on August 9. - (as posted in The Deli's Open Blog - post your band's entries, videos, and Mp3s here). The Deli's NYC Open Blog is powered by The Music Building.