American folk music

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "American folk music" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

This article is part of a series on the
Music of the United States
General topics Education History
Timeline Colonial era to the Civil War During the Civil War Late 19th century 1900–1940 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
Genres Classical Jazz Country EDM Folk Bluegrass Hip hop Pop Rock R&B Techno Trap
Specific forms Religious music Gospel music Christian pop Ethnic music Native American Arapaho Blackfeet Inuit Iroquois Kiowa Navajo Pueblo Seminole Sioux Yuman Anglo-American Old-time Western African-American Celtic Spanish New Mexican Latin Tejano Puerto Rican Cajun and Creole Hawaiian Immigrant communities
Media and performance Awards American Music Awards Grammy Awards Country Music Awards Gospel Music Awards Tejano Music Awards Charts Billboard Music Chart American Top 40 Festivals Jazz Fest Lollapalooza Ozzfest Monterey Jazz Festival Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Media Spin Rolling Stone Vibe DownBeat The Source XXL MTV VH1 BET Revolt
Nationalistic and patriotic National anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Other American patriotic music
Regional AK AL AR AS AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA GU HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MP MS MT NC ND NE NH NM NV NJ NY OH OK OR PA PR RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VI VT WA WI WV WY
United States portal  Music portal
v t e

The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as traditional music, traditional folk music, contemporary folk music, vernacular music, or roots music. Many traditional songs have been sung within the same family or folk group for generations, and sometimes trace back to such origins as the British Isles, Mainland Europe, or Africa.^[1] Musician Mike Seeger once famously commented that the definition of American folk music is "...all the music that fits between the cracks."^[2]

American folk music is a broad category of music including bluegrass, gospel, old time music, jug bands, Appalachian folk, blues, Cajun and Native American music.^{[not verified in body]} The music is considered American either because it is native to the United States or because it developed there, out of foreign origins, to such a degree that it struck musicologists as something distinctly new. It is considered "roots music" because it served as the basis of music later developed in the United States, including rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and jazz.