In its essence, folk music is music for the people — an art form inextricably intertwined with the soul of a region. Its nature is inherently visual, conjuring vivid imagery with just a single ...

Before there was Bob Dylan, the folk revival icon, there was Odetta. Before there was Janis Joplin, the wailing blues singer, there was Odetta. The woman whom Martin Luther King Jr. called the “Queen ...

Library of Congress archivist Joe Hickerson has died at 89. For decades, he worked to preserve America's collection of folk music and served as director of the library's American Folklife Center. Joe ...

Freak folk emerged in the 1970s as a subgenre of psychedelic folk, but later took off in the 1990s with a resurgence in the 2000s. It blends the hippie sensibilities of straight folk—pastoral images, ...

The CU Boulder American Music Research Center (AMRC) has acquired the collection of Harry Tuft, a central fixture in the Colorado folk music scene. Megan K. Friedel—lead archivist and head of ...

One of the most distinguishing things about folk rock is its lyrical poetry. Here's a look at five songs that perfectly captured the soul of the genre.