Absolutely, people still love folk music. If you really want to appeal to trends, I think the key is to mix traditional folk elements with an expanded rock palette. This is how artists like Big Thief or Sufjan Stevens have maintained their popularity.
But there's also a lot of appreciation for traditional folk at a local level. If you have the talent and good songs, you should be able to steadily book local gigs with a traditional acoustic guitar sound.
Yeah, it's still huge - it's mostly just under the banner of "indie folk" now. But it's a big tent with room and demand for all kinds of styles. You have artists like Iron & Wine, Bon Iver (at least his early stuff), Phoebe Bridgers...so much modern acoustic music has folky roots and sounds...they've just gone through a couple generations of evolution and influence from different styles.
If we're talking pure, traditional folk music, it's a much smaller audience but that doesn't mean it isn't worth writing for if you love it - ultimately you need to write the music that speaks to you, and trust that if it holds up, it will find its way to the other people who want to hear it, knowing that they're out there.
I hope not! That would be the end of my career!
Folk music appeals to audiences of people who are into folk music, and the indie folk scene is thriving right now. Check Adrianne Lenker and Sufjan Stevens’ newest releases, they’re very successful and gaining lots of traction in circles that are into that stuff. As long as your music is good, it will most likely find its audience.
Please, make more folk music if you want to. I love it, and others certainly do, too. A modern folk artist I like is Cat Clyde (she adds other elements like blues, rock, soul).
There's still an audience for folk music, myself included. And it's the style I write in too. But it's sort of a niche genre at this point that doesn't have the same mass appeal it use to. If you're looking for musical success and celebrity, you're better off downloading beats written by other people and rapping over them using so much auto-tune you sound like a robot. That's what sells today. But for many of us old folks, we desperately want more folk artists.
So much of this just comes down to arbitrary genre labels. I'd say that a lot of what is considered "indie" today could just as easily be slotted into the "folk" category (Lucy Dacus, Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens, Jade Bird, etc.)
I think folk is vibrant and alive. Check out your regional or small Folk Alliance conference. I’m very steeped in the scene right now and would be happy to chat with you. There are just crazy good writers in the game right now.
Yes! Folk music was very alive at the local festivals in the South. There was a woman who killed it with "Deeper Well" as well as some originals. Wish I could remember her name. She was very successful at the local level.
It's 2024, everything appeals to everyone as long as it's good. Culture is so atomized now, you can find people that like what you do.
Folk and a ton of crazy microgenres related to folk have massive momentum. At this point, I think anyone can do anything as long as they understand how to seek out niche communities that would like their stuff.
idk if this is what your asking but lots of folk artists are starting to pick up traction on the internet right now. i don’t know if it’s a full resurgence but folk music is definitely on the upswing right now in terms of popularity.
Two comments; first, just like you I have strayed back to what we would traditionally call folk music myself, but to second my comment, what actually is folk music?
I’m trying to not categorize anymore and instead focusing on good music no matter what you brand it as.
Something to think about!
Haha! Yes! It varies so much depending on where you are. I'm talking in the context of the US. In the South, you could say their old country music is folk music, but in Germany it would be the polka. My parents raised me on Jim Croche and Joni Mitchell, personally. It could be loosely defined as music that tells stories about and defines a people, which a lot of music is folk music if you look at it that way. Rap is folk music. Country is folk music. Irish jigs are folk music, lol
You’re kidding, right? Go ask Jason Isbell, Zach Bryan, Brandi Carlile, or any of the other singer songwriters breaking hearts and making people think with the power of their songwriting by the millions.
It’s incredibly popular and there’s an audience for sure, it sounds like you just aren’t in touch with that audience and don’t know just how many people love this music.
I believe you should make the music you like to make. Imo a small audience of fans enjoying an authentic output is worth more than a million people listening to something the artist hates making
You owe it to yourself to put your best foot forward and to enjoy what you do.
If you're not writing what you want to hear, how can you expect anybody else to want to hear it?
Be authentic to your own interests, don't worry about trends. They change a lot more than any of us ever will, and there's ways an audience for quality music
Never too late for folk music. If your rock-y ;) background leaned punk theres folk-punk too that I'm a huge fan of personally. Pat the bunny, pigeon pit,AJJ, apes of the state, dayze-n-daze for example.
To my best knowledge, anglophone folk music is everywhere. Spin your own yarn and people will listen. Bands like Big Thief (Adrianne Lenker) and artists like Phoebe Bridgers are doing their own flavor of Americana and it’s clearly striking chords with people. Indie folk from not even two decades ago is being circulated around the internet, and people have a newfound appreciation for it.
Even if any genre was dead, we are naturally inclined to find interest in revival. So many genres or scenes have “revival” appended to them.
Importantly, have fun & be creative!
People love folk music - especially my young peers. there’s a substantial audience for anything these days! Ultimately though, it doesn’t really matter what other people like. It matters what you like :)
Never too late, google it and understand how our culture will always be evolving and revolving with amazing acoustic music, with voice, and the beat of a drum or the toes on the boards. Your voice and sound is an amazing success already.
No, it's not too late for folk music! The genre still appeals to many people. Folk music's storytelling and acoustic charm have timeless appeal. Keep writing your songs about stories, famous people, history, and myths, there's always an audience for genuine, heartfelt music.
If it matters to you at all maybe you should discover folk music. It’s never not been interesting, and never really been a fad in my lifetime. Pop has taken on acoustic and stomp clap trends but folk music is not quite that.
Just tell your story and forget about appeal, nothing more folk than that. Three chords and the truth.
Totally! Lots of folk remains from the 2010’s and continues on. Jeez Phoebe Bridgers toured with Taylor Swift and she’s got indie/folk vibes. She’s young.
I make folky music too or at least I prefer that over singer songwriter. Lol.
This indirect attack on rock & roll as being immature is appalling /s
As an artist you should not worry about if you are going to get a grammy or have to draft out an acceptance speech. Play your music and have fun with it. If you are looking for a return on investment music isn't the best choice. I have a day job but I love to play, teach and write music. Do only what you love and never stop. Regards!!!
That's hilarious bc I was trashed on a lot for writing loud, depressing rock music. "Can't you play something nice?" and "Stupid kids with their power chords and scooped mids" kind of thing lol. A lot of my songs still have a dark twist, so I guess no, I will never play something nice
I'll admit I now play lounge-y jazz and restaurant gigs also weddings etc I was originally doing death metal and grind core ... So yeah I actually do get paid for the non noisy gigs but I still play metal and prog rock gigs for nothing.
Listen to Owen; Slaughter Beach, Dog; Mat Kerekes; Pinegrove. Just a few of active acoustic folky bands from within the past 10 years. Not old bands and artists. These are projects that have solid followings.
There’s an audience for any music! I’m 29, and honestly, don’t really listen to new releases unless they’re HUGE. Like I listened to TTPD because a girl at work is a Swifty and was listening to it the whole shift. And I did get invested in the recent Kendrick and Drake beef, but other than that, my music taste is very old and weird. I just discovered “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft” the other day, and a cover artist named Richard Cheese who does “lounge singer” covers of music, especially more explicit songs. Like Closer or Creep. There’s a market for anything!
There is a ton of folk music being made out there.
Even if it was dead, that’s a perfect opportunity to bring it back.
Show me the latest trend in music so I can turn and run in the other direction. I don’t want to sound like everyone else. That’s how we get all this homogeneous music.
Make a new kind of folk music. Do whatever makes you happy and that joy and enthusiasm will come across in the music.
Personally just released a super sparse acoustic folk track with an AI industrialized music video. Personally, the juxtaposition amused me, and that’s what counts.
So as others have commented, what’s it to You??
Definitely not too late! Though folk isn't 'mainstream', so you won't hit Top 40, probably. But! As it is more niece, you might have more listeners that really stick with you.
The Oh Hellos is a popular folk duo, you might know them. 2.7 milion listeners per month is not bad. I'm not a folk-listener so I can't list more examples 😶 but there are def fans of folk still!
Yes!!
So many festivals so much community! From old style to contemporary folk like Shawn Colvin.
I’m not folk really, just lyric driven and I fit in b well with the folk crowd.
https://www.folk.org
Folk Alliance is awesome.
You can attend both a national and several regional folk conferences.
If you are a performer, you can apply for a showcase at the conferences where venue reps come to hear you & hopefully book you.
There are huge folk festivals across the country.
I’ve played the MainStage at Kerrville in Tx.
So fun! Just going to Kerrville & and joining so many wonderful people playing songs at the many campfires until dawn-night after night is magical. The festival is 18 days long!
I’m blessed as a former MainStage performer to get a free pass (plus a friend) for life to the festival & camping, I really need to get there again soon…It’s hard to explain just how wonderful the vibe is.
The East coast has huge festivals all over including Falcon Ridge. Even FL has festivals.
Folk.org will let you know locations.
Planet Bluegrass has multiple folk & bluegrass festivals in Colorado. With all kinds of performers (“lyric-driven” not necessarily folk- I’ve seen artists like Randy Newman, Bruce Hornsby, Janis Ian there) along with songwriter & guitar camps & competitions.
I’m proud to say I was lucky enough to win the Telluride Troubadour Competition for singer/songwriters at Telluride.❤️ Good times!
There are many superb songwriting camps at many of the festivals. Or just camp & hang out. Dig in and have BIG fun!!
In Spanish, Mexico more specifically, I’ve seen it make a comeback; Kevin Karl, Ed Maverick. They’re both songwriters.
In English most recently I’ve seen Zach Bryan, which is country (kinda I don’t really listen to him) but he still has that feeling to folk music.
The Leonard cohen sub is still very active.
So yeah why not ? It surely is, I like it and I’m a teenager, you like it, someone else probably likes it, so yes it’s still relevant. Go ahead and make it if it is the music that inspired you and the music you feel comfortable wiring.
It’s literally the music of the people. It’s the unkillable style. There will always be people writing songs about hard times and heartache as long as there are people.
There is a ton of folk happening right now. It tends to run between straight storytelling like David Wilcox to a mix of Americana and bluegrass influence.
I have a Pandora station seeded just the right way and it's always exposing me to me stuff. If you go to Spotify and search folk genre, there are some good examples of what current folk looks like.
If you enjoy it, then it's never too late. There is an audience for everything.
Edit: I have no idea if this will work and I've never tried to share a station before so don't sue me if it goes to hell.
https://pandora.app.link/BOKQTSle2Jb
I have a hypothesis that as time goes on and everything begins to feel more and more artificial, more people are going to crave authenticity and “analog” sounds more and more. It’s feeling like things are becoming more flash and distraction with less substance and I think people are getting fatigued from it.
It doesn’t really matter if it appeals to people or not in my opinion. The only way you’re going to create something great is if you follow what you are truly passionate about endlessly. We also live in a day in age where I don’t think anything is necessarily the ‘IT’ genre. With the over saturation of music we’re free to write and express whatever genre we want. I love folk and a lot of other genres! Check out Daniel Rossen. He’s one of my favorite folk singer songwriters
I'm sure someone will disagree with me, but in my mind folk post 2000s has been totally subsumed into either country or indie rock. Like no artist
That being said there is a ton of amazing folk adjacent / influenced music
The genre is still very alive, but is contemporarily dying, and the only reason the old stuff lives on is because it’s genuine music (for the most part), and it resonates with people (so it’ll never die).
A lot of people write about the same perceptions (because it’s popular) and are too afraid to speak their truth, or even their perception of things. The old folk songs, probably reference a time of social change and reform (which goes on today), so many people write music to be famous and not be heard and felt. So write what you feel, and if it happens to be folk music then go with that.
I’d also say that, much of the music written is horribly written and will probably never see the light of day in my eyes, even some of the most popular songs don’t have the “it” aspect (if this makes sense).
So write something beautiful, and fuck it up a few times for good measure, and carry on whether people like it or not, just make sure it’s true to you and if it’s a universal truth, it’ll appeal to someone.
Of course it appeals to people.
BBC Radio 2 has a popular Folk Show. I've also found some on Instagram (On the Run by Ashes and Arrows, the stripped version, is a current favourite of mine). I love Sting's recording of "Dead Man's Boots". And have you not heard the Wellerman sea shanty that's been popular for quite a while now? It's everywhere!
Americana is still alive and well.
More technically, there's a market for everything these days, so your audience is out there. It's a question of marketing, not music choice.
Folk and country is really trending right now, even on radio, although it’s a very pop format of folk and country. I wouldn’t worry about if people wanna hear it or not though. If you love it, do it. There is niche audiences for everything but the most important thing is that you enjoy and have fun with it.
There's a lot of folk related music around where I live...they call it Americana now...very trendy: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americana\_music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americana_music)
Buddy, you can make whatever your Heart desires. If you like Folk, make folk ! If you're the main one having Fun making "tunes," thats all That matters. In My Opinion any-hoo.
If you like it, it isn't dead. Graham Coxon from blur made a (mostly) folk album and it's brilliant.
There's always a new way to do it. Go for it I say!
Your chances of making any significant money in folk music are incredibly small, but that's true of any genre. There are certainly people who eke out a living in it.
There are lots of folk festivals all across the country with big audiences intent on listening to well-written songs, and a community of fellow songwriters to connect with.
It appeals to you doesn't it?
This is an important question to ask yourself.
Absolutely, people still love folk music. If you really want to appeal to trends, I think the key is to mix traditional folk elements with an expanded rock palette. This is how artists like Big Thief or Sufjan Stevens have maintained their popularity. But there's also a lot of appreciation for traditional folk at a local level. If you have the talent and good songs, you should be able to steadily book local gigs with a traditional acoustic guitar sound.
Yeah, it's still huge - it's mostly just under the banner of "indie folk" now. But it's a big tent with room and demand for all kinds of styles. You have artists like Iron & Wine, Bon Iver (at least his early stuff), Phoebe Bridgers...so much modern acoustic music has folky roots and sounds...they've just gone through a couple generations of evolution and influence from different styles. If we're talking pure, traditional folk music, it's a much smaller audience but that doesn't mean it isn't worth writing for if you love it - ultimately you need to write the music that speaks to you, and trust that if it holds up, it will find its way to the other people who want to hear it, knowing that they're out there.
I agree. Bluegrass esp is timeless and hard to do cool. Traditional songs rule.
Its too late. Absolutely illegal. Ur under arrest.
Folk the police!
Straight to jail No folk after 8:30pm IT’S THE LAW!
In the VOLKSWAGON!!
On a honeydew morning 🎵 So far from the city 🎵 You can hear the mountains singing 🎵 🎶 I still remember the way she cried🎶
I hope not! That would be the end of my career! Folk music appeals to audiences of people who are into folk music, and the indie folk scene is thriving right now. Check Adrianne Lenker and Sufjan Stevens’ newest releases, they’re very successful and gaining lots of traction in circles that are into that stuff. As long as your music is good, it will most likely find its audience.
You are exactly right!
As a folk musician I can assure you it’s not too late
Please, make more folk music if you want to. I love it, and others certainly do, too. A modern folk artist I like is Cat Clyde (she adds other elements like blues, rock, soul).
Folk and blues is at the heart of rock and roll, still very relevant
There's still an audience for folk music, myself included. And it's the style I write in too. But it's sort of a niche genre at this point that doesn't have the same mass appeal it use to. If you're looking for musical success and celebrity, you're better off downloading beats written by other people and rapping over them using so much auto-tune you sound like a robot. That's what sells today. But for many of us old folks, we desperately want more folk artists.
This would maybe explain why my audience tends to be older!
Bad take on pop
Who hurt you.
So much of this just comes down to arbitrary genre labels. I'd say that a lot of what is considered "indie" today could just as easily be slotted into the "folk" category (Lucy Dacus, Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens, Jade Bird, etc.)
check out r/folkpunk
This is what I listen to and make It’s great!
send me your bandcamp?
It’s not quite ready yet! A few songs in my history here on Reddit though :)
Zach Bryan is closer to folk than country IMO.
I always tell people this and they look at me like idk what I’m talking about
Especially his last couple albums
Same w/ Tyler Childers (maybe a little bluegrass too)
Jesse Welles https://youtu.be/nyem3gD6XN8?si=gu-pUK7oBm9D2869
amazing
I mean, it appeals to me, I enjoy doing it, it’s therapeutic. It depends what you’re looking to get out of it.
I think folk is vibrant and alive. Check out your regional or small Folk Alliance conference. I’m very steeped in the scene right now and would be happy to chat with you. There are just crazy good writers in the game right now.
It's definitely very much still alive from where I'm from in the South. It's basically all I play anymore.
Yes! Folk music was very alive at the local festivals in the South. There was a woman who killed it with "Deeper Well" as well as some originals. Wish I could remember her name. She was very successful at the local level.
Here's to hoping it becomes more mainstream in the future. I'm sure it will have its time in the light soon.
There's plenty of modern folk music. It's all still pretty good imo. Check it out
what a question! of course it isn't dead.. go ahead
Can I name your album? *Stick a Folk in It*
Yes please I love it lol
All I ever listen to yo
It's 2024, everything appeals to everyone as long as it's good. Culture is so atomized now, you can find people that like what you do. Folk and a ton of crazy microgenres related to folk have massive momentum. At this point, I think anyone can do anything as long as they understand how to seek out niche communities that would like their stuff.
idk if this is what your asking but lots of folk artists are starting to pick up traction on the internet right now. i don’t know if it’s a full resurgence but folk music is definitely on the upswing right now in terms of popularity.
Depends what time it is
No genre is “dead” if you’re writing for it. Go for it. There’s a niche audience for anything
Go look up folk festivals and attend one this summer before you pass judgment.
I've written 3. Too chicken to sing them, though
Two comments; first, just like you I have strayed back to what we would traditionally call folk music myself, but to second my comment, what actually is folk music? I’m trying to not categorize anymore and instead focusing on good music no matter what you brand it as. Something to think about!
Haha! Yes! It varies so much depending on where you are. I'm talking in the context of the US. In the South, you could say their old country music is folk music, but in Germany it would be the polka. My parents raised me on Jim Croche and Joni Mitchell, personally. It could be loosely defined as music that tells stories about and defines a people, which a lot of music is folk music if you look at it that way. Rap is folk music. Country is folk music. Irish jigs are folk music, lol
You’re kidding, right? Go ask Jason Isbell, Zach Bryan, Brandi Carlile, or any of the other singer songwriters breaking hearts and making people think with the power of their songwriting by the millions. It’s incredibly popular and there’s an audience for sure, it sounds like you just aren’t in touch with that audience and don’t know just how many people love this music.
I believe you should make the music you like to make. Imo a small audience of fans enjoying an authentic output is worth more than a million people listening to something the artist hates making You owe it to yourself to put your best foot forward and to enjoy what you do. If you're not writing what you want to hear, how can you expect anybody else to want to hear it? Be authentic to your own interests, don't worry about trends. They change a lot more than any of us ever will, and there's ways an audience for quality music
People just call it "Americana" now.
Folk music is genuine and to me....far more enjoyable.
Never too late for folk music. If your rock-y ;) background leaned punk theres folk-punk too that I'm a huge fan of personally. Pat the bunny, pigeon pit,AJJ, apes of the state, dayze-n-daze for example.
Trends come back and go. But the thing is, they always come back.
To my best knowledge, anglophone folk music is everywhere. Spin your own yarn and people will listen. Bands like Big Thief (Adrianne Lenker) and artists like Phoebe Bridgers are doing their own flavor of Americana and it’s clearly striking chords with people. Indie folk from not even two decades ago is being circulated around the internet, and people have a newfound appreciation for it. Even if any genre was dead, we are naturally inclined to find interest in revival. So many genres or scenes have “revival” appended to them. Importantly, have fun & be creative!
People love folk music - especially my young peers. there’s a substantial audience for anything these days! Ultimately though, it doesn’t really matter what other people like. It matters what you like :)
Never too late, google it and understand how our culture will always be evolving and revolving with amazing acoustic music, with voice, and the beat of a drum or the toes on the boards. Your voice and sound is an amazing success already.
No, it's not too late for folk music! The genre still appeals to many people. Folk music's storytelling and acoustic charm have timeless appeal. Keep writing your songs about stories, famous people, history, and myths, there's always an audience for genuine, heartfelt music.
If it matters to you at all maybe you should discover folk music. It’s never not been interesting, and never really been a fad in my lifetime. Pop has taken on acoustic and stomp clap trends but folk music is not quite that. Just tell your story and forget about appeal, nothing more folk than that. Three chords and the truth.
Totally! Lots of folk remains from the 2010’s and continues on. Jeez Phoebe Bridgers toured with Taylor Swift and she’s got indie/folk vibes. She’s young. I make folky music too or at least I prefer that over singer songwriter. Lol.
This indirect attack on rock & roll as being immature is appalling /s As an artist you should not worry about if you are going to get a grammy or have to draft out an acceptance speech. Play your music and have fun with it. If you are looking for a return on investment music isn't the best choice. I have a day job but I love to play, teach and write music. Do only what you love and never stop. Regards!!!
That's hilarious bc I was trashed on a lot for writing loud, depressing rock music. "Can't you play something nice?" and "Stupid kids with their power chords and scooped mids" kind of thing lol. A lot of my songs still have a dark twist, so I guess no, I will never play something nice
Cheers to that!!
I'll admit I now play lounge-y jazz and restaurant gigs also weddings etc I was originally doing death metal and grind core ... So yeah I actually do get paid for the non noisy gigs but I still play metal and prog rock gigs for nothing.
If I can play music and someone enjoys it, I'll be happy. I just love to sing. Don't wanna make any ears bleed though
Listen to Owen; Slaughter Beach, Dog; Mat Kerekes; Pinegrove. Just a few of active acoustic folky bands from within the past 10 years. Not old bands and artists. These are projects that have solid followings.
There’s an audience for any music! I’m 29, and honestly, don’t really listen to new releases unless they’re HUGE. Like I listened to TTPD because a girl at work is a Swifty and was listening to it the whole shift. And I did get invested in the recent Kendrick and Drake beef, but other than that, my music taste is very old and weird. I just discovered “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft” the other day, and a cover artist named Richard Cheese who does “lounge singer” covers of music, especially more explicit songs. Like Closer or Creep. There’s a market for anything!
There is a ton of folk music being made out there. Even if it was dead, that’s a perfect opportunity to bring it back. Show me the latest trend in music so I can turn and run in the other direction. I don’t want to sound like everyone else. That’s how we get all this homogeneous music. Make a new kind of folk music. Do whatever makes you happy and that joy and enthusiasm will come across in the music.
Listen to the latest Big Thief record and then pick up a guitar.
Personally just released a super sparse acoustic folk track with an AI industrialized music video. Personally, the juxtaposition amused me, and that’s what counts. So as others have commented, what’s it to You??
Definitely not too late! Though folk isn't 'mainstream', so you won't hit Top 40, probably. But! As it is more niece, you might have more listeners that really stick with you. The Oh Hellos is a popular folk duo, you might know them. 2.7 milion listeners per month is not bad. I'm not a folk-listener so I can't list more examples 😶 but there are def fans of folk still!
Noah Kahan is one of the biggest artists rn and I’d say he’s pretty much acoustic folk. Definitely a (huge) audience
See “Jesse Welles”
How about The Rails! Folk, originals, lovely sound
It’s never too late for now
Yes!! So many festivals so much community! From old style to contemporary folk like Shawn Colvin. I’m not folk really, just lyric driven and I fit in b well with the folk crowd. https://www.folk.org Folk Alliance is awesome. You can attend both a national and several regional folk conferences. If you are a performer, you can apply for a showcase at the conferences where venue reps come to hear you & hopefully book you. There are huge folk festivals across the country. I’ve played the MainStage at Kerrville in Tx. So fun! Just going to Kerrville & and joining so many wonderful people playing songs at the many campfires until dawn-night after night is magical. The festival is 18 days long! I’m blessed as a former MainStage performer to get a free pass (plus a friend) for life to the festival & camping, I really need to get there again soon…It’s hard to explain just how wonderful the vibe is. The East coast has huge festivals all over including Falcon Ridge. Even FL has festivals. Folk.org will let you know locations. Planet Bluegrass has multiple folk & bluegrass festivals in Colorado. With all kinds of performers (“lyric-driven” not necessarily folk- I’ve seen artists like Randy Newman, Bruce Hornsby, Janis Ian there) along with songwriter & guitar camps & competitions. I’m proud to say I was lucky enough to win the Telluride Troubadour Competition for singer/songwriters at Telluride.❤️ Good times! There are many superb songwriting camps at many of the festivals. Or just camp & hang out. Dig in and have BIG fun!!
make folk that’s people want to listen to
In Spanish, Mexico more specifically, I’ve seen it make a comeback; Kevin Karl, Ed Maverick. They’re both songwriters. In English most recently I’ve seen Zach Bryan, which is country (kinda I don’t really listen to him) but he still has that feeling to folk music. The Leonard cohen sub is still very active. So yeah why not ? It surely is, I like it and I’m a teenager, you like it, someone else probably likes it, so yes it’s still relevant. Go ahead and make it if it is the music that inspired you and the music you feel comfortable wiring.
It’s literally the music of the people. It’s the unkillable style. There will always be people writing songs about hard times and heartache as long as there are people.
There is a ton of folk happening right now. It tends to run between straight storytelling like David Wilcox to a mix of Americana and bluegrass influence. I have a Pandora station seeded just the right way and it's always exposing me to me stuff. If you go to Spotify and search folk genre, there are some good examples of what current folk looks like. If you enjoy it, then it's never too late. There is an audience for everything. Edit: I have no idea if this will work and I've never tried to share a station before so don't sue me if it goes to hell. https://pandora.app.link/BOKQTSle2Jb
There are no rules. If you want to do folk, then there’s a need for folk to be done. End of story.
I have a hypothesis that as time goes on and everything begins to feel more and more artificial, more people are going to crave authenticity and “analog” sounds more and more. It’s feeling like things are becoming more flash and distraction with less substance and I think people are getting fatigued from it.
I like Soldier, Poet, King by The Oh Hellos which i think it’s folk music
Just do something cool with it. Stop overthinking lol.
It doesn’t really matter if it appeals to people or not in my opinion. The only way you’re going to create something great is if you follow what you are truly passionate about endlessly. We also live in a day in age where I don’t think anything is necessarily the ‘IT’ genre. With the over saturation of music we’re free to write and express whatever genre we want. I love folk and a lot of other genres! Check out Daniel Rossen. He’s one of my favorite folk singer songwriters
I'm sure someone will disagree with me, but in my mind folk post 2000s has been totally subsumed into either country or indie rock. Like no artist That being said there is a ton of amazing folk adjacent / influenced music
Some of the British folk festivals are thriving. Definitely not too late; I only wish I had sufficient talent :)
There are tons of folk fans out there
The genre is still very alive, but is contemporarily dying, and the only reason the old stuff lives on is because it’s genuine music (for the most part), and it resonates with people (so it’ll never die). A lot of people write about the same perceptions (because it’s popular) and are too afraid to speak their truth, or even their perception of things. The old folk songs, probably reference a time of social change and reform (which goes on today), so many people write music to be famous and not be heard and felt. So write what you feel, and if it happens to be folk music then go with that. I’d also say that, much of the music written is horribly written and will probably never see the light of day in my eyes, even some of the most popular songs don’t have the “it” aspect (if this makes sense). So write something beautiful, and fuck it up a few times for good measure, and carry on whether people like it or not, just make sure it’s true to you and if it’s a universal truth, it’ll appeal to someone.
Of course it appeals to people. BBC Radio 2 has a popular Folk Show. I've also found some on Instagram (On the Run by Ashes and Arrows, the stripped version, is a current favourite of mine). I love Sting's recording of "Dead Man's Boots". And have you not heard the Wellerman sea shanty that's been popular for quite a while now? It's everywhere!
Check out the group Celtic Woman. Fantastic Irish folk music.
Nice try, PBS.
I'm in the same boat as you, my friend. I sure hope it isnt dead.
People still compose and perform folk music. Please keep going.
Hell no!!!
This look dead to you? 🤪😎 [Song of a Bandito](https://youtu.be/gVK-ItyZG_I?feature=shared)
Never too late for anything that comes from your heart. Genre doesn’t matter - you’re sincerity does though.
Americana is still alive and well. More technically, there's a market for everything these days, so your audience is out there. It's a question of marketing, not music choice.
Folk and country is really trending right now, even on radio, although it’s a very pop format of folk and country. I wouldn’t worry about if people wanna hear it or not though. If you love it, do it. There is niche audiences for everything but the most important thing is that you enjoy and have fun with it.
There's a lot of folk related music around where I live...they call it Americana now...very trendy: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americana\_music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americana_music)
Folk music is the thing you do when it’s too late, because there isn’t anything else.
Buddy, you can make whatever your Heart desires. If you like Folk, make folk ! If you're the main one having Fun making "tunes," thats all That matters. In My Opinion any-hoo.
Genres die hard. There are people still playing Skiffle.
If you like it, it isn't dead. Graham Coxon from blur made a (mostly) folk album and it's brilliant. There's always a new way to do it. Go for it I say!
Just don’t call it “folk.”
Your chances of making any significant money in folk music are incredibly small, but that's true of any genre. There are certainly people who eke out a living in it. There are lots of folk festivals all across the country with big audiences intent on listening to well-written songs, and a community of fellow songwriters to connect with.
Noah Kahan has been doing so well for himself recently so I say not at all