It’s official: the indie rock establishment has found “Americana” the way recovering alcoholics find religion. These days, there are far too many bands successfully shilling lame-ass imitations of country music to all the tight-pants wearing, Stereogum-reading, Devendra Banhart-loving hipsters like so many plastic, crucified Jesuses. And the Avett Brothers, who play the Paramount on August 28, are a prime example. Listening to them is like drinking whiskey-flavored Kool-Aid. Sure, they’re from North Carolina, as are the Hackensaw Boys, but authenticity is not dependent on a group’s geographic origins (the Drive-By Truckers may be from the deep South, but somehow, Patterson Hood’s accent still manages to sound fake). The Hackensaw Boys, however, have maintained both Southern cred and country cred with a bluegrass sound that’s influenced by punk rock, but doesn’t sound like its either forcing—or apologizing for—its twang. Founded by Modest Mouse vet Tom Peloso and Robert “Mahlon” Bullington in 1999, the name of band’s most recent release, 2007’s Look Out, now seems foreboding: The boys are no longer listed on the roster of the band’s longtime label, Nettwerk, possibly because they haven’t done as well as former, like-minded labelmates Old Crow Medicine Show. Let’s hope they can find a new label home that appreciates their skill. With Charlie Parr.

Wed., July 22, 9 p.m., 2009