Country folk

Country folk
Stylistic origins	Country country gospel Southern gospel folk music progressive folk bluegrass
Cultural origins	Late 1960s
Typical instruments	Guitar (acoustic electric) harmonica piano Banjo other instruments used sometimes
Other topics
Country rock - Folk rock - Americana - Neotraditional country - Alternative Country - Indie folk

Country folk as a genre label is a rather nebulous one, but one that has been employed often at least since the mid-1970s. For dedicated enthusiasts, the category largely includes the works of contemplative post-Dylan singer-songwriters, who were influenced by his and other late 1960s' and 1970s' artists' country rock sounds, but who, recording slightly later, preferred a gentler, more acoustic-dominant sound that allowed focus on the lyrics. The significant element that distinguishes "country folk" from the "folk" music on Dylan's contemporaries' recordings in the 1960s was the re-admission of country and bluegrass music instrumentation--mandolin, banjo, fiddle, and resophonic and electric steel guitars--into the mix; country rock's success with urban audiences had paved the way for this hybrid. For aficionados, viewing country folk as a subgenre of country is inaccurate, as it is not aimed at a country music audience, in the main.

Some of the definitive country folk artists from the early years include John Prine, Kate Wolf, and Nanci Griffith--all singer-songwriters with thoughtful lyrics whose arrangements are backed by the aforementioned instruments. By the 1980s, record labels such as Rounder and Sugar Hill specialized in recording country folk artists

The category does overlap with the post-country rock trajectories of other artists who moved away from the mainstream market as country rock's own fortunes waned at the close of the 1970s. Emmylou Harris moved into neo-traditionalist country, Chris Hillman into progressive bluegrass, brother harmony duo (with Herb Pedersen), and Bakersfield revival. By the start of the 1990s, these sounds, as well as others, would inspire musical amalgams categorized as alternative country music and Americana--yet "country folk" continues to be used for the gentler sounds of singers such as Iris DeMent and Gillian Welch.

Even during the 1970s, as the acoustic, early country music-inflected sounds of country folk were making it distinct from other styles of post-1960s singer-songwriter music, it had varying degrees of overlaps with the sounds of progressive country music (such as Kris Kristofferson, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark), outlaw country (Billy Joe Shaver, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson), progressive bluegrass (Tony Rice albums Cold on the Shoulder and Native American), and other country rock inflected recordings (Tom Rush's Tom Rush and Merrimack County and Gordon Lightfoot's 1970s' catalog). None of these were specifically marketed or received as "country folk," however. Still, later low-key, acoustic-dominant country-inflected recordings by these and many other earlier artists have at times loosely, but not inaccurately, been defined as country folk by some sources.

Artists

The following artists have been described as "country folk" performers:

References

External links

Americana UK - world's biggest alt-country website also covers genres such as country folk

Folk music
Subgenres	Ballads Carols Children's songs Contemporary folk Drinking song Hornpipe Jigs Morris dance Protest song Sea shanties War songs
Fusions	Americana Anti-folk Celtic music Celtic rock Country folk Electric folk Freak folk Filk music Folk jazz Folk metal Folk pop Folk punk Folk rock Folktronica Indie folk Industrial folk song Manila Sound Medieval folk rock Neofolk Nerd-folk Psychedelic folk Progressive folk Skiffle Turbo-folk
Related articles	Festivals Folk clubs Folk dance Instruments Lists of traditions Pub session Record labels Roots revival Singer-songwriter Traditional music World music
Regional scenes	Alps American Andean Armenian Assyrian Azerbaijani Balkan Cuban English Filipino French Greek Hungarian Icelandic Indian Iranian Irish Italian Jamaican Macedonian Mexican Pakistani Poland Portuguese Scottish Swedish Turkish Ukrainian Russian

Country music genres
Alternative country Americana Australian country Bakersfield sound Bluegrass Bro-country Canadian country Country folk Country pop Country rap Country rock Cowpunk Southern soul Honky tonk Nashville sound Neotraditional country Outlaw country Progressive country Red Dirt Rockabilly Texas country Western swing
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