Folk Rock

Folk music is, by definition, the songs and melodies of a particular people or culture. Of course, in the english-speaking world, this is dominated by British/Irish folk music and the country/bluegrass/folk music of the USA. When pop music added amplified muscle in the mid-1960s, folk became electrified too. The result was folk-rock, a hybrid style that takes the songs, structures and interests of traditional folk music and adds electric guitars (or other instruments) and rock rhythms to create a high energy re-invention of the ancient forms.
In the UK, the 1960s saw a sprouting of new growth with Pentangle and Fairport Convention being at the forefront. In the USA, a new awareness of musical roots added depth and texture to albums by The Band, Bob Dylan and The Byrds (amongst many others). Here in Australia Redgum made politically savvy folk-rock while much of Paul Kelly’s music could easily sit in this category. Yothu Yindi took folk-rock in their own direction, enriching the musical landscape for all, while The Bushwackers did the impossible by briefly making bush dances more popular than pubs.