Folk revival

The mid-20th-century revival of interest in traditional and contemporary folk music in the United States, shaped by recordings, clubs, festivals, and political movements.

Woody Guthrie: An American singer-songwriter whose topical songs and folk style influenced generations of musicians. His music and example linked traditional forms with songs about contemporary social life.
Folk music club: A venue or association where performers and audiences gather to hear and play folk music. Clubs gave emerging revival musicians regular stages and close-knit audiences.
American folk music: Music transmitted through oral and community traditions in the United States, encompassing diverse regional and cultural styles. The revival drew on this broad inheritance while recasting it for modern audiences.
Rock and roll: A popular music genre that emerged in the United States in the 1950s, combining rhythm and blues with country influences. Its amplified sound and youth-market appeal contrasted with acoustic revival performance.
Protest song: A song that expresses opposition to injustice, war, or political authority. The revival helped make protest song a prominent form of American popular expression.
Pete Seeger: An American folk singer and activist who popularized traditional songs and supported labor and civil-rights causes. His performances and organizing helped establish folk music as a participatory public culture.
Folk music festival: A public event centered on performances of folk music, often featuring workshops and communal singing. Festivals brought performers, collectors, and listeners together on a large scale.
American folk song collecting: The documentation and study of songs transmitted through American communities and oral traditions. Collectors’ archives helped revivalists locate and authenticate traditional repertoire.
Tin Pan Alley: A name for the commercial music-publishing industry centered in New York City from the late nineteenth century into the twentieth. Revivalists often distinguished communal song traditions from professionally manufactured popular songs.
Greenwich Village: A Manhattan neighborhood associated with artistic communities and the New York folk scene. Its cafés and clubs became a major center for revival performers and songwriters.

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