Country Folk

Country folk refers to a form of Contemporary Folk that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s which synthesizes elements from Country. Instrumentation drawn from Traditional Country and Bluegrass, such as banjos, mandolins, fiddles and steel guitars, is heavily emphasized, though country folk takes a mellower and more gentle approach rhythmically when compared to those genres. Building off of Folk’s strong Singer-Songwriter tradition, there is a predilection within country folk for intimate lyrics and heavy emphasis on storytelling. Unlike other strands of country, artists are expected to write their own songs instead of having songs written for them, and often cover folk songs as opposed to other country songs. Though country folk mainly draws from traditional country, some artists draw from more contemporary developments such as Folk Pop, Progressive Country, and Progressive Bluegrass, or in recent decades, Alt-Country and Americana. Though country instrumentation and influences could be found throughout folk music and folk musicians frequently covered and re-interpreted country songs throughout the folk revival, it would not be until the latter half of the 1960s that the country tradition would be re-emphasized in the broader folk music sphere. Following the mainstream success of Folk Rock and Country Rock and the high-profile integration of country influences by Bob Dylan, folk and country musicians began to cross-pollinate their influences together more thoroughly, leading to a proliferation of releases throughout the late 1960s and 1970s from artists such as Townes Van Zandt, John Denver, John Prine, and Emmylou Harris. Due to country folk, like country rock, being aimed at a broader audience outside of traditional country demographics, the genre was able to spread to an unprecedented degree. By the end of the 1970s, however, country folk diminished in prominence alongside other rootsier forms of popular music. Despite this, the genre has remained active with modern acts such as Gillian Welch, Willi Carlisle, and Creekbed Carter Hogan all continuing to work within the genre and continue its legacy, and its instrumentation has been adopted prominently by modern Indie Folk and Stomp and Holler groups.