Contemporary folk music facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Contemporary folk music |
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Pete Seeger at the Clearwater Festival 2007
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| Other names | Folk music, folk revival music |
| Stylistic origins |
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| Cultural origins | Early 20th century |
| Typical instruments | See folk instruments |
| Derivative forms |
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| Fusion genres | |
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Contemporary folk music is a wide range of music styles that started in the mid-1900s. It is linked to older, traditional folk music. Around the mid-20th century, a new kind of popular folk music grew from these older traditions. This period is often called the "second folk revival," and it was most popular in the 1960s.
This new music is also called "folk music," but people often say "contemporary folk music" or "folk revival music" to tell it apart. This change mostly happened in the United States and is known as the American folk music revival. New styles like folk rock also came from this movement. Even though contemporary folk music is different from traditional folk, they often share the same name, artists, and places where they are performed. Sometimes, a single song can even mix both styles.
The "second folk revival" brought a new type of popular music. Artists became famous through concerts, recordings, and radio. One of the first important figures was Woody Guthrie. He sang traditional songs in the 1930s and 1940s and also wrote his own. In the UK, the folk revival helped new singer-songwriters like Donovan become well-known in the 1960s. Canada also saw its first wave of internationally successful folk artists, including Gordon Lightfoot, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, and Buffy Sainte-Marie.
Famous artists from the 1940s to the early 1960s include Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan. The mid-1960s to early 1970s brought big changes in music, politics, and lifestyles. Folk music quickly changed and grew during this time. Artists like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and Peter, Paul and Mary developed their styles. New music styles that mixed folk with rock and pop also appeared. During this time, folk music with strong political messages was often called "protest music." Canadian artists like Gordon Lightfoot, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Cockburn, and Joni Mitchell created these mixed styles and became very popular in the U.S. From the 1970s, new singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Harry Chapin kept folk music alive.
Other types of folk music include anti folk, folk punk (like the Irish band the Pogues in the 1980s), indie folk, folktronica, freak folk, and Americana. There are also mixed styles such as folk metal, progressive folk, and neofolk.
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What is Contemporary Folk Music?
It can be tricky to define "contemporary folk music" exactly. Here, it means all music called folk that is not traditional folk music. Instead, it's a group of styles that started with the folk revival in the mid-20th century and grew from there.
According to musician Hugh Blumenfeld, for the American folk scene, it's more than just the music. The definitions also involve politics, society, and money, as well as how it sounds. He says that even if it's hard to define, we can describe what folk music fans usually listen to.
Blumenfeld points out some common things about folk music:
- It is generally Anglo-American, meaning it includes acoustic and traditional music from the UK and the United States.
- Musically, it mostly comes from Western Europe. The songs are usually in English. Other music styles and languages are often put into the "World Music" group, even if they are traditional in their own cultures.
- A few exceptions to this rule are Celtic music, blues, some Central and South American music, Native American music, and Klezmer. These exceptions are often due to historical reasons or who the folk fans are.
Folk Revival in English-Speaking Countries
After World War II, folk music revivals happened in Europe, Canada, and the United States. These movements grew through the 1960s. The songs often talked about the political and social issues of the time.
The North American Folk Music Revival says that the folk music revival began in cities in the Northeastern U.S. From there, it spread across North America and even to Western Europe. The fans were usually middle-class university students. While folk music instruments vary, North American folk revival music often used "acoustic guitar, harmonica, banjo, mandolin, autoharp, violin, and accordion."
The "second folk revival" brought a new type of popular music. Artists became famous through concerts, recordings, and radio. This is the music style that is still called "contemporary folk music" today. Woody Guthrie was one of the first important artists in this revival. He sang traditional songs and wrote his own. Pete Seeger was a friend and follower of Guthrie, also collecting, performing, and writing songs.
Important American folk revival artists include Elizabeth Cotten and Odetta. Cotten was a guitar and banjo player known for her "Cotten style" of fingerpicking. She released her first album in 1958. Odetta was known for mixing her powerful voice with blues and folk songs. She was very active in the Civil Rights Movement, and her music showed this. Both Cotten and Odetta performed at the first Newport Folk Festival.
In the 1930s, Jimmie Rodgers became popular. In the 1940s, Burl Ives was famous. In the early 1950s, Seeger's group the Weavers and Harry Belafonte were popular. In the late 1950s, the Kingston Trio and other professional groups became well-known. Some people say the folk revival era truly began with the Kingston Trio's hit song Tom Dooley in 1958.
From 1950, magazines like Sing Out! and Broadside helped share both traditional and new songs. Folk-revival record companies also played a big part.
In the United Kingdom, the folk revival helped young artists like the Watersons and Martin Carthy become famous. It also brought a generation of singer-songwriters like Bert Jansch, Ralph McTell, Donovan, and Roy Harper. All of them became well-known in the 1960s. Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and Tom Paxton visited Britain in the early 1960s. Dylan and Simon later used some of the traditional English music they heard in their own songs.
In 1950, American folklorist Alan Lomax came to Britain. He met A. L. 'Bert' Lloyd and Ewan MacColl. This meeting is seen as the start of the second British folk revival. In London, they opened the Ballads and Blues Club, which later became the Singers' Club. This was possibly the first folk club in the UK. As the 1950s turned into the 1960s, the folk revival grew stronger in both Britain and America.
In many rural parts of Canada, traditional and country-folk music were the most popular styles until the 1950s. They were even more popular than jazz and swing. Traditional folk music was featured on early Canadian television shows. All Around the Circle (1964–1975) showed traditional Irish and English music from Newfoundland. But the most important show was Don Messer's Jubilee (1957–1973). It helped connect rural country-folk with the folk revival happening in city coffee shops. The show helped start the careers of country-folk singers Stompin' Tom Connors and Catherine McKinnon.
The folk revival led to Canada's first wave of internationally successful artists. These included Gordon Lightfoot, Leonard Cohen, Ian & Sylvia, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Buffy Sainte-Marie. At the same time, French-speaking Canadian folk singer-songwriters like Gilles Vigneault and groups like La Bottine Souriante became popular. English-speaking Canadian folk artists often moved to the United States for bigger audiences. This changed in the 1970s when Canada introduced "Canadian content" rules for radio and television.
Around the same time, Canadian folk music became more organized and commercial. Folk festivals started (the first was the Miramichi Folksong Festival in 1958). Folk music also got more airplay on rock, pop, and easy listening radio stations. The Juno Award for Folk Artist of the Year was created in 1971, and an academic journal called the Canadian Folk Music Journal started in 1973. In the mid-to-late 1960s, mixed forms of folk, like folk rock, became very popular. However, the early 1960s might have been the peak of non-mixed folk music's popularity.
During the Great Depression, folk music showed the struggles of ordinary people. Songs often had simple lyrics that described hard times and poverty. Newly written songs in a traditional style, like those by Guthrie, often had humor and satire. Most of the folk music audience back then was working class. Many songs expressed resistance to the social order and anger towards the government.
Folk Music in the Mid-1960s to Early 1970s
Big changes in music, politics, and culture happened in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. Folk music also changed quickly and grew in many directions. Major changes came from artists like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and Peter, Paul and Mary. New styles that mixed folk with rock and pop also appeared. Much of this started in the early 1960s and became very popular later in the decade. Greenwich Village in New York was a key place for these changes. Dylan's use of electric instruments helped start folk rock and country rock, especially with his album John Wesley Harding.
These changes moved folk music further away from traditional styles. The Byrds, with hits like Seeger's "Turn! Turn! Turn!", showed what folk rock was all about. Barry McGuire left the New Christy Minstrels and recorded "Eve of Destruction" in 1965. Other artists like Simon & Garfunkel and the Mamas & the Papas created new, unique music that had folk influences and was often considered folk rock.
During this time, folk music with strong political messages was often called "protest music." The civil rights movement and folk music became popular on college campuses. This led to the rise of artists like Bob Dylan and his protest songs. Folk singers and songwriters such as Phil Ochs, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Arlo Guthrie, and Tom Paxton followed Woody Guthrie's example. They wrote "protest music" and topical songs. These songs supported causes like the American Civil Rights Movement and anti-war efforts related to the Vietnam War. Songs like Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" became an anthem for the civil rights movement. He also sang about other current issues, like "Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" about the Cuban missile crisis. Many artists who started by singing traditional songs, like Joan Baez and Judy Collins, began writing their own music.
Canadian artists Gordon Lightfoot, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Cockburn, and Joni Mitchell created these mixed styles and were very popular in the U.S. All four eventually received the Order of Canada. Many of the acid rock bands from San Francisco started by playing acoustic folk and blues. Television shows featured many folk performers, including Pete Seeger, who had previously been banned.
Bonnie Koloc is a Chicago-based American folk music singer-songwriter who released her first album in 1971. In 1968, Melanie released her first album, which included several popular songs that mixed folk and pop.
The mid to late 1960s saw the growth of British folk rock. This style focused on traditional English and European songs. A key moment for British folk rock was the release of Fairport Convention's album Liege and Lief. Guitarist Richard Thompson said the band's music needed an "English Electric" style. Bassist Ashley Hutchings formed Steeleye Span to play more traditional songs in the folk rock style. After leaving the group, Thompson and his wife Linda released six albums as a duo. Their music combined folk rock and art rock. Fairport Convention, Pentangle, Alan Stivell, and Mr. Fox added electric instruments to traditional music.
From the Mid-1970s to Today
Starting in the 1970s, new singer-songwriters kept folk music thriving. These included Steve Goodman, John Prine, Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell, John Denver, and Harry Chapin. In the British Isles, the Pogues in the early 1980s and Ireland's the Corrs in the 1990s brought traditional tunes back to the music charts. The Corrs were active from 1990 to 2006. They mixed Celtic and pop music. Carrie Newcomer started with Stone Soup in 1984 and has been performing alone since 1991. Brandi Carlile, Patty Griffin, and Rising Appalachia are popular folk artists around 2019.
In the 1980s, the Washington Squares played "throwback" folk music. Suzanne Vega performed folk and protest-oriented music. The Knitters played cowpunk or folk punk, which later became alt country. More recently, artists like Miranda Stone and Steve Earle have continued this spirit.
In the late 1990s, folk music again became popular in the mainstream. This was thanks to younger artists like Eliza Carthy, Kate Rusby, and Spiers and Boden. Canada's best-selling folk group of the 1990s and 2000s was Great Big Sea from Newfoundland. They mixed Celtic music with rock and had four platinum albums in Canada.
Folk metal bands like Korpiklaani, Skyclad, Waylander, Ensiferum, Ithilien, and Finntroll combine elements from many traditions. They often use instruments like fiddles, tin whistles, accordions, and bagpipes. Folk metal often uses themes inspired by pagan beliefs.
Viking metal is known for its folk style. Bands like Ulver (who were once folk metal) include folk parts in their albums. Mumford & Sons, a folk rock and indie folk band, formed in 2007 and became famous in 2010. Shenandoah Run formed in 2011 to bring 1960s contemporary American folk music to today's listeners.
Special Folk Music Styles
Filk music can be seen as folk music in its style and culture. However, the community it came from, science fiction fandom, is very modern and unusual. Neofolk started in the 1980s. It mixes traditional European folk music with post-industrial music, historical topics, deep thoughts, traditional songs, and paganism. This style is mostly European but also influences other regions. Pagan Folk music is popular in Germany, the United Kingdom, Scandinavian countries, and Slavic countries. Singers like David Smith (also known as Damh the Bard) and bands like Danheim, Faun, Omnia, Wardruna, and Arkona are examples. Most of these bands combine folk with other music styles like metal or electronica.
Anti folk began in New York City in the 1980s. Folk punk, also called rogue folk, mixes folk music and punk rock. The London-based Irish band the Pogues started this style in the 1980s. Industrial folk music describes folk music about industrial places and topics, including related protest songs.
Other styles include indie folk, progressive folk, folktronica, freak folk, and Americana. Mixed styles include folk metal and neofolk.
Electronic Folk Music
Music that mixes folk and electronic music is called "folktronica" (or "ethnic electronica"). It uses acoustic instruments with different electronic sounds and influences. The Ashgate Research Companion to Popular Musicology describes folktronica as a term for artists who combine electronic dance beats with acoustic rock or folk.
The 1993 album Every Man and Woman is a Star by Ultramarine is seen as an early example of this music. It had a calm, natural sound and mixed traditional instruments like violin and harmonica with techno and house elements. According to The Sunday Times Culture's Encyclopedia of Modern Music, important albums in this style are Four Tet's Pause (2001), Tunng's Mother's Daughter and Other Songs (2005), and Caribou's The Milk of Human Kindness (2005).
More "worldbeat" influenced electronic folk artists include Bryn Jones with his project Muslimgauze (before his death in 1999). Other artists are from the Asian underground movement (Cheb i Sabbah, Asian Dub Foundation, Joi, State of Bengal, Transglobal Underground, Natacha Atlas), Shpongle, Home Sweet Somewhere, Mavka, Ott, Zavoloka, Linda George, Banco de Gaia, AeTopus, Zingaia, Afro-Celt Sound System, Métisse, A Tribe Called Red, Go_A, and some early work by Yat-Kha (with Ivan Sokolovsky).
Country Folk Music
| Country folk | |
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| Cultural origins | Late 1960s |
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Country folk is a music style that has been used since the mid-1970s. For fans, it mostly includes songs by thoughtful singer-songwriters who came after Bob Dylan. These artists were influenced by the country rock sounds of the late 1960s and 1970s. However, they preferred a softer, more acoustic sound that focused on the lyrics.
What makes "country folk" different from the "folk" music of Dylan's time in the 1960s is the return of country and bluegrass instruments. These include mandolin, banjo, fiddle, and resophonic and electric steel guitars. The success of country rock with city audiences helped make this mixed style popular. For fans, country folk is not really a subgenre of country music, as it's not mainly for country music audiences.
Some of the first country folk artists include Harry McClintock, John Prine, Kate Wolf, and Nanci Griffith. They were all singer-songwriters with meaningful lyrics, and their music used the instruments mentioned above. By the 1980s, record labels like Rounder and Sugar Hill specialized in recording country folk artists.
This style also overlaps with artists who moved away from mainstream country rock after it became less popular in the late 1970s. Emmylou Harris moved into neo-traditional country. Chris Hillman moved into progressive bluegrass and other styles. By the early 1990s, these sounds, along with others, inspired mixed music styles called alternative country music and Americana. Still, "country folk" continues to be used for the softer sounds of singers like Iris DeMent, Billy Strings, and Gillian Welch.
Even in the 1970s, as country folk's acoustic, country-influenced sounds became distinct, it sometimes overlapped with progressive country music. Artists like Kris Kristofferson, Townes Van Zandt, and Guy Clark are examples. It also overlapped with outlaw country (Billy Joe Shaver, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash) and progressive bluegrass. However, none of these were specifically called "country folk." Still, later calm, acoustic country-influenced recordings by these and many other earlier artists have sometimes been called country folk.
More recently, most artists whose music could be called country folk are found in the americana genre. These include Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, Parker Millsap, Patty Griffin, and Amanda Shires. Several artists, most notably Sarah Jarosz, are described as both folk and americana artists. She has won Grammy Awards in both categories.
European Contemporary Folk Music
In Europe, the term "folk" is used for a special modern music style. Traditional folk music is often called folklore or national music.
Czech folk music is influenced by Czech traditional music and songwriters. It also draws from "tramping" music, English-language country, contemporary-folk music, spirituals, traditional songs, bluegrass, and chanson. In the second half of the 20th century, all these similar styles existed together as a protest against official pop music and rock music. Since 1967, the "Porta" festival became the main event for this style. It was originally a festival of country & western & tramping music. Acoustic guitars were the most common instrument for all these styles.
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