Indie folk is a

music genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from '' musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are som ...

that arose in the 1990s among musicians from

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

scenes influenced by

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation. The genre has its earliest origins in 1990s folk artists who displayed

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

influences in their music, such as Ani DiFranco and

Dan Bern Dan Bern (also known as Bernstein; born July 27, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, novelist and painter. His music has been compared to that of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Ochs and Elvis Costello.Brett ...

, and acoustic artists such as Elliott Smith and Will Oldham. In the following decade, labels such as

Saddle Creek Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over his ...

Barsuk Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, that was founded by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, in 1998 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawi ...

, Ramseur, and Sub Pop helped to provide support to indie folk, with artists such as Fleet Foxes breaking into the pop charts with albums such as '' Helplessness Blues''. In the United Kingdom, artists such as Ben Howard and Mumford & Sons emerged, with the latter band promoting the music style through their Gentlemen of the Road touring festivals. The success of acts like Mumford & Sons led some music journalists like Popjustice's Peter Robinson labelling this new British music scene as The New Boring or Beige Pop. In the late 2010s, artists such as Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker revived interest in the genre. Bridgers cites Elliott Smith as a foundational influence on her sound.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indie folk Alternative rock genres American styles of music British styles of music British rock music genres Indie rock