An incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist, dedicated performer, prolific songwriter, gifted and expressive vocalist, Kort McCumber has wandered beyond good and into the elusive land of great. More than a decade into his musical pilgrimage, he continues to define, and redefine, his sound, his persona, his love for music and his unwavering commitment to bringing good music, "no make that great" music, to listeners throughout the United States, Europe and Australia. And, as with any true pilgrimage, it's not merely about defining and redefining, but more about discovering and rediscovering the person behind the persona.

While he readily admits to loving the 'playing music part of it ... anywhere, anytime'', it's the in between times that get tough; the getting there, getting set up, getting packed up and getting up to get going to the next show that makes the road wearisome. That and the fact that he misses his home, wife, dogs "and the sanity they afford me. But when I weigh it all out, I know this is what I want to do. This is what I gotta do."

Along the way, he's discovered a thing or two - about himself, about life on the road, life off the road, along the road, beside the road and beyond the road. That's the essence of Americana. And Kort captures it. Luckily, for us, it's a catch and release program. Self-discovery, after all, means little if there isn't a broader revelation, one that compels the explorer to say what he's heard, to show what he's seen and to share what he's felt. Americana is, or ought to be, a nod to the past, a snapshot of the present and a hopeful yearning for the future, born in an intimate understanding of what life in America is - on, off, along, beside and beyond each and every road.