# Suggestions for modern (and maybe not-so-modern) folk music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 28, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-modern-and-maybe-not-so-modern-folk-music/435325 "2008-01-28T17:19:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-modern-and-maybe-not-so-modern-folk-music/435325/41 "2008-02-02T09:48:52Z")
We listen online to [this show](http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/radiowales/sites/celticheartbeat/) from BBC Radio Wales then use the playlist to chase up anything which takes our fancy - it’s where we first heard of [Show of Hands](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78Y7cBLJWgI) , a “mighty” band. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-modern-and-maybe-not-so-modern-folk-music/435325/42 "2008-02-02T22:16:26Z")
Do Simon and Garfunkel count? I vote for Loreena McKennit, the Chieftans, and Gaelic Storm (the latter played the steerage band in _Titanic_.) ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-modern-and-maybe-not-so-modern-folk-music/435325/43 "2008-02-03T02:58:05Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] Do Simon and Garfunkel count? I vote for Loreena McKennit, the Chieftans, and Gaelic Storm (the latter played the steerage band in _Titanic_.) [/QUOTE] I have cd’s of all those groups. Try the American Irish group Cherish The Ladies. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-modern-and-maybe-not-so-modern-folk-music/435325/44 "2008-02-03T03:17:32Z")
Songs that got thumbs up on my Eva Cassidy channel at [Pandora.com](http://Pandora.com): “Fields of Gold” and “True Colors” - Eva Cassidy “Everybody Loves a Lover” - Francis Black & Kieran Gross “Elizabeth” - Catie Curtis “Rain” - Marj Snyder “Rusty Old Red River” - Toni Price “Shady” - John Phillips ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-modern-and-maybe-not-so-modern-folk-music/435325/45 "2008-02-04T15:57:38Z")
Check out Ian & Sylvia. Two of their best-known songs (they wrote them) are [“Four Strong Winds”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op-BEg5728A) and [“Someday Soon.”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5iW5TQOmPQ&feature=related) (Here they’ve acquiesced to Judy Collins’ popular version of the song; I prefer the original version as sung by just Ian and Sylvia, with some different lyrics.) Check out New Grass Revival. Sam Bush on mandolin, Bela Fleck on banjo, Pat Flynn on guitar, and John Cowan on bass. Lots of their stuff [here.](http://youtube.com/results?search_query=%22new+grass+revival%22&search_type=) I suggest [“Good Woman’s Love”](http://youtube.com/watch?v=i5aCftSDdk4) (showcasing John Cowan’s vocals) and [“Seven by Seven”](http://youtube.com/watch?v=vD9JFSPNGCU) (showcasing their instrumental prowess - it busts loose about 1 1/2 minutes into the tune). ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-modern-and-maybe-not-so-modern-folk-music/435325/46 "2008-02-04T17:02:29Z")
I second Ian and Sylvia . I saw them in person a few times. Then Phil Ochs. Dave Van Ronk Early Bob Dylan Buffy Saint Marie Woody Guthrie Ewan MacColl Pete Seeger Ramlin Jack Elliot ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-modern-and-maybe-not-so-modern-folk-music/435325/47 "2008-02-04T17:24:38Z")
Two “oldies but goodies” not yet mentioned: Tom Paxton Rufus’s daddy [Loudon Wainwright III](http://www.lwiii.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-modern-and-maybe-not-so-modern-folk-music/435325/48 "2008-02-05T04:26:50Z")
Does Devendra Banhart count as folk? ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-modern-and-maybe-not-so-modern-folk-music/435325/49 "2008-02-05T04:45:03Z")
Great Big Sea’s album _The Hard and the Easy_ has some great traditional stuff on it. One of our favorites. (And two–count them, _two_ songs about horses falling through ice.) ---
**Author:** ![Olive\_The\_Other\_Reindeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Olive\_The\_Other\_Reindeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olive_The_Other_Reindeer)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-modern-and-maybe-not-so-modern-folk-music/435325/50 "2008-02-05T05:32:48Z")
We heard Neal and LeAndra on NPR one night, and fell in love with them. We have a couple of their albums. I would highly recommend them to anyone. It’s not folksy, but has that feel, if you know what I mean. Their website is [http://www.nealandleandra.com/home/](http://www.nealandleandra.com/home/) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-modern-and-maybe-not-so-modern-folk-music/435325/51 "2008-02-05T06:06:34Z")
Another vote for John Prine. Also, I highly recommend the Mermaid Avenue CD’s. The daughter of Woodie Guthrie found a box of old song lyrics that Woodie wrote and never got a chance to record. There was no music to go along with them at all, so she took the box to folk singer Billy Bragg and asked him if he wanted to set them to music. He agreed, but wisely decided that Woodie was Americana (Bragg is from Europe), so he enlisted **Wilco** into the project. They split up the songs, wrote their own music, and put the tracks down on two CDs, both of which are absolutely wonderful. Here’s some youtube videos of sample tracks from the CDs: [Ingrid Bergman](http://youtube.com/watch?v=LfIPdRNV7cg) [California Stars](http://youtube.com/watch?v=KGlsfM3Tf70) [Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key](http://youtube.com/watch?v=U_m7QDckFJQ&feature=related) [She Came Along to Me](http://youtube.com/watch?v=63UqDZOeMQ8) [Another Man’s Done Gone](http://youtube.com/watch?v=BVVJux_dnps) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-modern-and-maybe-not-so-modern-folk-music/435325.md?page=2)