Contemporary/ Modern Folk Music around America

     Like many other genres folk is a parent to many different sub genres such as Folk Rock, Folk Metal, Blue Grass, Psychedelic Folk, Indie Folk, Anti Folk and Progressive Folk. However, this isn't an exhaustive list. With a music genre that is almost as old as acoustic instruments, it's not surprising how folk music has evolved, changed and otherwise morphed into what it is today. Here we will be talking a look into contemporary folk music. While, yes, a rather broad spectrum of music there are lines that connect them all.

    To start it is important to home in on what folk music is and what characteristics it has. The essence of folk music is that it's passed down traditionally, not recorded and enjoyed by regional group. However, with the ugly beauty that is the internet this genre becomes not obsolete but treasured, and with this new* fangled internet comes more stipulations on what folk music is. First and foremost, is the use of acoustic instruments, a story telling aspect, usually English lyrics (with the exception of traditional Cajun music), an emphasis on regionality and finally, where we run into trouble, it's passed down orally and/or not recorded. Anything with the descriptor Modern or Contemporary is bound to be caught up in the internet. While this is an important distinction in topic of traditional folk music it's borderline impossible in modern circles of genres.

    To start I believe it would be a disservice to talk about folk music and not mention Alan Lomax. Born in 1915 he would go on to go across America during the great depression and record regional folk music. From Appalachia to rural plains of the Midwest, from the cracks and the lowdowns of industrial cities to dried up streets in the dustbowl. 

Alan Lomax 1957

    As the audience of folk music became wider and a certain Pete Seeger who got famous from Lomax's journey. Seeger is colloquially known as the father of the folk revival. In 1960's folk music got a huge resurgence in popularity with the counterculture movement. As a very common link within all* folk music is the presence of strive. Using my favorite song from Pete Seeger as example. This song is about anti-union group oppressing workers and has been covered countless times due to is ever present message.

    With Pete Seeger rising in popularity, he was bound to influence someone who would make it big and that he did. Bob Dylan, Don McLean and Bernice Johnson Reagon and I'm sure many others were influenced by his sound. Fighting for change his protest music was heard even during the 60s. Calling for nuclear disarmament, worker's rights, civil rights and environmental causes. 

    Because of the amount of people that people like Pete Seeger reached because of Alan Lomax countless people heard that folk sound that they might not have gotten a taste of. With that comes countless different interpretations of what folk can be. 

    Starting on someone whose sound isn't too far removed from Seeger. With not much more than an acoustic guitar and a voice this is Danny Schmidt. Released in 2005 the album Parables and Primes has an overwhelming amount of soothing and somber tunes. Particularly the first track in the album This Too Shall Pass, about finding meaning when everything is transient.

    Within the same vein as Danny Schmidt is Father John Misty. The tenth track of his I Love You, Honeybear is simply titled Holy Shit. With Violins, what sounds like a synthesized choir and of course an acoustic guitar accompanying Father John as he sings about confusion, contradictions and complexity of modernity.

 

   Something evitable with any music genre is the combination of other genres. Folk Rock is the combination of... you guessed it! Folk and Rock. All kidding aside, here we get some rather unique sounds, the following example is The State of Massachusetts by The Dropkick Murphys. With a really unique set of instruments such as the banjo, accordion, bass and electric guitar and a drum set this is probably one of my favorite songs of the genre. It tells a story about a family in disarray, a mother victim to her husband and her children victim to generational trauma. Eventually DSS gets involved and this leads the children to belong to the state of Massachusetts. 

    And finally, one of my favorite genres is Folk Punk. If you held me a gun point, I would not be able to tell you why I enjoy this genre as much as I do, but I'll try to anyway. I think with the innate "stick it to the man" that punk holds melds really well with the typical instrumentation of most folk music. The following song is a perfect example of that. The song No Lodging for the Mad by The Taxpayers one of my favorite bands, is about just that; "in a God-fearing land, there ain't no lodging for the mad". The society we live it doesn't make much room for people who can't cope with the already insane times we live in. 

    To conclude, one of my favorite things about all Folk music is the fact that it won't be going anywhere. It's one of the most bare bones genres and I think that's the appeal of it. All anyone needs to sing a folk tune that's been passed down in the region for years is a guitar (or other local instrument) and the ability to make mouth sounds. The stories told with music typically always stand the test of time and that's what makes Folk just an enduring genre. 

“About Alan: Association for Cultural Equity.” The Association for Cultural Equity, www.culturalequity.org/alan-lomax/about-alan. Accessed 22 Jan. 2024.

Astudillo, Anton. “Folk Music: Past and Present.” Medium, The Riff, 23 Feb. 2021, medium.com/the-riff/folk-music-past-and-present-1e442fefc7ac.

“Folk Music Artists: A Brief History of Folk Music - 2024.” MasterClass, www.masterclass.com/articles/folk-music-guide. Accessed 22 Jan. 2024.

“Folk Music.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/art/folk-music. Accessed 22 Jan. 2024.