John Fahey pioneered a musical style called American Primitivism (or American Primitive Guitar) in the 1950's, a sort of amalgamation of the various flavors of American guitar. Head over to All Songs Considered to check out Lars Gotrich's picks of five contemporary records keeping Fahey's tradition alive.
America, The Primitive: 5 New Guitar Records That Would Make John Fahey Proud
Hans van der Linden (http://www.flickr.com/photos/herrhanz/)