About Quality Americana
Quality Americana was born out of a love for songwriting. Based in the great Southwest, our magazine releases new content daily that highlights the artist, the poet, the train-jumping folk singer, the round table writer and everyone that sets out to capture our hearts with an instrument.
Song of the Day
Our flagship article that tells you about the song from the authors mind. We release the YouTube version of an artists single along with an interview every week.
Who we are:
Andrew Blanton
Andrew Blanton is a journalism graduate from Texas State University, a singer songwriter, and our content director at Quality Americana.
Blanton is currently performing with Muchacho Sanchez.
You can listen to the debut album “Laredo” here.
Ten years ago, Andrew Blanton arrived in Austin, Texas with a guitar and a notebook of songs. He quickly landed a weekly spot at the Hole in the Wall, the famed listening room on the outskirts of the University of Texas that once housed Townes Van Zandt and Blaze Foley, and he regularly performs his unique blend of Tejano and Americana in the Texas Hill Country.
While building his catalog, Blanton toured from the open-sky stages in Terlingua to the beach clubs on the Gulf of Mexico with an EP of self recorded works. Though it was a dream to produce a studio album, the budget was tied up on the road.
In 2023, The City of Austin announced the creation of the Live Music Fund, a grant program designed to support Austin’s local music scene. Blanton knew it was the right time to pitch the idea for “Laredo.”
“I set out to honor the unique melting pot that we call home,” Blanton said. “My parents used to load all of us up into a massive ‘88 Suburban and drive us across the state while playing the Texas Tornados, Guy Clark, and Asleep at the Wheel. The mixture of Tejano and Country we have in Texas holds a special place in my heart, and I wanted to honor Mexican culture with Laredo.”
Robert L. Kelly
Robert played his favorite country and blues songs for his friends and family right here for years before joining a monastery and moving to Ontario, Canada, where he and some like-minded brothers and sisters formed the M.H. Blues Breakers, where he honed his driving guitar playing and wailing, rhythmic harmonica. Upon his return to the US of A, he jumped around Chicago for a minute, hopped up to the east coast and down through the Carolinas before setting his big, flat feet back in Texas.
With a repertoire of original music as well as favorite standards and unique performances of popular songs, Kelly engages the audience as a confident and friendly singer and storyteller. He gives us a unique perspective on music history with his column Love and Theft.
Robert Alarcon
Robert Alarcon leads our promotional team and performs in the Texas Hill Country under the stage name Muchacho Sanchez.
Contact Us
Send us any inquiries to andrewblanton@yahoo.com
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