southern

While most bluesy hard rock acts of the '70s and '80s hailed from the United States (the south, to be exact), there were several exceptions to the rule, such as Canadian singer/guitarist Pat Travers. Born in Toronto on April 12, 1954, Travers first picked up the guitar just prior to entering his teens, after witnessing a local performance by the great Jimi Hendrix. It wasn't long before Travers was studying the other top rock guitarists of the day (Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, etc.), and paying his dues by playing in bar bands in the Quebec area.

North Mississippi Allstars is an American rock/blues jam band from Hernando, Mississippi, founded in 1996. The band is composed of brothers Luther Dickinson (guitar, vocals) and Cody Dickinson (drums, keyboards, electric washboard), and Chris Chew (electric bass guitar). Duwayne Burnside, who formerly played second guitar in the band, is a son of R.l. Burnside (who has also played on some of the band's tracks).

Emma Davidmann (born 22nd May 1990) is an ascending indie-folk starlet reminiscent of other modern singer-song writers such as Laura Marling. The 22 year old southerner (hometown of Thame, Oxfordshire to be precise) fuses eloquent lyrics with melodic acoustic guitar to produce music full of emotion, with subject matter from the whole of the romantic spectrum. She first picked up a guitar after being inspired by Pink Floyd's 'Wish You Were Here' and the instrument has been entwined with her music ever since.

Audrey Faith Perry, later known as Faith Hill (born September 21, 1967 in Star, Mississippi), is a successful American country singer, known for her commercial success as well as her much-publicized marriage to country singer Tim McGraw. The tall blonde songstress's self-titled album, 'Faith, ' sold four million copies worldwide. The album featured her hit single 'This Kiss, ' which topped the charts for three straight weeks and became her first crossover success, hitting number five on the pop charts.