The V-Roys (formerly the Viceroys, until it was discovered a Reggae band had the same name), a bluegrass-rock (for lack of a better term) band from Knoxville, TN. Signed by Steve Earle to his E Squared label, they often opened for him. They put out two excellent (but low-sellng) albums and collaborated with Earle on an EP.
Alas, I heard they were breaking up a few months back.
Sir
Big Leo Kottke fan here. He’s obscure, but I can’t for the life of me figure out why. He’s been around for thirty years, has put out about thirty albums (a few of them are less than overwhelming, but for the most part they’re very good), he tours constantly and he’s really terrific in concert – he tells the funniest stories between songs.
So I do my part and try to win converts wherever I go. His latest album is titled “One Guitar, No Vocals”. Buy it. Listen to the first cut (“Snorkel”). You’ll never regret it.
A lot of my favourite bands aren’t mainstream or really big, so here it goes:
Satanic Surfers (my fav band)
Less Than Jake
Mellincolin
Snapcase
Refused
Good Riddance
Strung Out
No Use For A Name
Mad Caddies
Underworld
Great Big Sea
The Waterboys
Goldfinger (though they’ve gotten pretty big recently)
Buck-O-Nine
Reel Big Fish
I know there’s more, but that’s all I can think of off the top of my head.