12 Modern Folk Albums That Will Completely Change Your View On The Genre

For some listeners, folk music probably feels like moving back in time to hang out with the simple flower children of the ’60s. You have artists like Bob Dylan who were “Blowin’ in the Wind,” while Donovan is trying to “Catch the Wind,” and Scott McKenzie is advising you to wear flowers in your hair before heading off to “San Francisco.” Though as long as you’re “Leavin’ on a Jet Plane” with Peter, Paul & Mary, you’ll get there in no time with the “Sound of Silence,” courtesy of Simon & Garfunkel.

But folk music is no longer just about long hair, an acoustic guitar (or two), some bouncy bits of poetry, and Bohemian stereotypes. As the 2000s have pushed onward, folk has not only revived but has also been revitalized by the energy of a new generation’s musical approach. Their decisive, heart-of-the-matter storytelling lyrics and healthy crossovers with country, rock, and experimentation continue to evolve the folk label forward on the strength of landmark albums leading the way into the future.

1

The Avett Brothers, Emotionalism (2007)

No “Die Die Die” In This Band Of Brothers Breakthrough

North Carolina folkers, The Avett Brothers, reached a deeper, widespread audience with the release of 2007’s Emotionalism, and the attention was certainly more than well-deserved. Led by brothers Scott and Seth Avett and backed for the first time by soon-to-be permanent Avett Brothers member cellist Joe Kwon, Emotionalism found the band at the young heights of what they’d continue to do so well in the years ahead.

Primarily backed by acoustic guitar, banjo, piano, percussion, and strings, the Avetts take their art to new heights on Emotionalism through the strength of their vocals, the chemistry of their harmonies, and the fun abandon in their instrumentation. There are delicate moments, like “The Weight of Lies” and “The Ballad of Love and Hate,” but it’s hard not to get down and stomp your head and feet to “Paranoia In B Major,” “Pretty Girl from Chile,” and “Pretty Girl from San Diego.”

The depth and nuance of the Avetts only continue to grow and astound with their age and maturation as well. But Emotionalism is where they started to really turn heads in the modern folk genre.

2

Stephen Wilson Jr., Son Of Dad (2023)

A “Mighty Beast” Of Folk Country Breakout

Stephen Wilson Jr. broke out of Indiana with his first studio album, Son of Dad, back in 2023, inspired away from factory work by the urge to be a songwriter as well as the sudden death of his father. Motivated by the likes of Johnny Cash and Kurt Cobain, Wilson’s debut is a concoction of folk, country, rock, and even a touch of Nirvana (eulogized on his Bruce Springsteen-esque track “Year to Be Young 1984”).

Wilson pours every nylon-stringed bend and wail of his soul into this deeply personal album.

Wilson expands on his simple roots upbringing on “Holler from the Holler,” “Billy,” and “American Gothic,” longs for his departed father with the mournful tug of “Grief is Only Love,” and expresses love for his soon-to-be-stepson on “Henry.” That’s just the beginning of the stories to be told and experiences to be shared on Son of Dad. Wilson pours every nylon-stringed bend and wail of his soul into this deeply personal album that reminds us to keep loving, fighting, and, most of all, living.

3

Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More (2009/2010)

“Sigh No More” With This Banjo Movement Revival

The debut of Britain’s Mumford & Sons had quite an impact on the modern folk music scene, both in the UK and here in the United States. 2010’s Sigh No More (2009 in the UK) felt like EDM for the banjo set, taking a varied set of rhythms and dropping the beat on a frenzied, freeing dance of purely genuine joy for fans that seemed reminiscent of the hippies of the ’60s. Mumford felt like a retro revival while still being capable of contemporary concerns.

Led by the friendly, gruff exterior of lead man Marcus Mumford’s vocals, tracks like “Little Lion Man,” “Roll Away Your Stone,” “Sigh No More,” and “Awake My Soul” felt like some of the highlights of a coming-out party for the group. Sigh No More also set the tone for what would come next on Mumford’s continued breakthrough of 2012 LP Babel. Modern folk moxie would never be the same again.

4

The Lumineers, The Lumineers (2012)

Folk Rock’s “Stubborn Love” Of An Intro

The self-titled debut of Denver, Colorado’s The Lumineers in 2012 continued through the window of modern folk popularity opened by Mumford & Sons with Sigh No More. While the group tends to lean more towards the plaintive singer-songwriter half of the genre than the louder, aggressive mosh of prime Mumford, duo Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites also have the same sense of charming, tender-hearted breakout poetic standard with The Lumineers.

Led by the singles “Ho Hey,” “Submarines,” and “Stubborn Love,” The Lumineers have remained a Top 40 and Alternative radio standard in the years that have followed. But it was The Lumineers that did its part to continue refining and expanding what we now know as the modern folk genre, right down to the sense of style and maybe a few sets of signature, snappy suspenders along the way.

5

Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago (2007/2008)

The “Lump Sum” Of Love Lost On This Debut

Wisconsin native and singer-songwriter Justin Vernon had reached an impasse in the world. Frustrated by a failing band, relationship, health, and place in his life, Vernon moved out to his father’s remote hunting cabin in the winter and disconnected from it all. Over time, he began to completely change his musical style and approach and ended up recording the roots of an album at that cabin that coalesced into For Emma, Forever Ago.

Using a more heavily employed set of falsetto vocals, Vernon took on the band name Bon Iver and self-released For Emma in 2007 (with a label release in 2008). With songs like “Flume,” “Skinny Love,” “re: Stacks,” “Lump Sum,” “For Emma,” and “Blindsided,” Vernon’s brand of folk-rock took on a surrealistic, experimental edge that would only range further afield from that cabin as his career progressed. But as complicated as some of the Bon Iver discography can get, there’s always the basics of For Emma and that stripped-down gem that came from deciding to change everything.

6

The Lone Bellow, The Lone Bellow (2013)

“Bleeding Out” This LP’s Folky Feelings

The concept of The Lone Bellow as a band began when singer-songwriter Zach Williams started making music and lyrics as a creative outlet in response to his wife’s severe injuries from a horse-riding accident. The couple wound up moving to New York City after her miraculous recovery, where Williams slowly began to play his songs live. In time, he formed a trio with fellow area musicians Brian Elmquist and Kanene Pipkin, initially known as Zach Williams and the Bellow.

Eventually, that name changed to The Lone Bellow, and the three first hit the studio in 2012 to bring their Southern-inflected, bluesy, folk-rock-gospel stylings to their 2013 debut, The Lone Bellow. And while the group certainly had rhythms and trappings similar to their predecessors Mumford and The Lumineers, The Lone Bellow also had a sense of folk music church in The Lone Bellow that felt like an entirely new discovery within the genre.

Whether it’s “Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold,” “Tree to Grow,” “You Never Need Nobody,” “Fire Red Horse,” “Bleeding Out,” or “Teach Me to Know,” the group brought triumph, tragedy, the ache of loneliness, and the swell of love to their introduction. The trio have an approach that is indispensable to the gospel of what we now know as modern folk music.

7

Justin Townes Earle, Harlem River Blues (2010)

Feeling The “Wanderin'” In This Country/Folk-Rock Record

While country-folk musician Justin Townes Earle never quite had the breakout he deserved before his untimely passing in 2020, he had plenty of moments that showed he was just as talented as his father, famed folk-rocker Steve Earle. Take his 2010 album Harlem River Blues, for instance, which started with a folk roots base, built on themes of rock, blues, rockabilly, soul, and gospel, and set the scene for the ups and downs of a country boy in New York City. The saddle meets the subway, if you will.

The saddle meets the subway, if you will.

The LP not only led to more-deserved attention Earle’s way with songs like “Christchurch Woman,” “One More Night in Brooklyn,” and “Workin’ for the MTA,” but also continued to define modern folk in new ways by feeling a bit more rock-and-roll urban cowboy style. And while Earle may have elevated the genre with a distinct twang, he still never forgot how to break a heart along the way.

8

The Head and the Heart, The Head and the Heart (2011)

“Down In The Valley” Of A Timeless, Inspiring Folk Debut

The 2011 self-titled major label debut of Seattle, Washington’s The Head and the Heart felt like taking all the best building blocks of folk rock and giving it a jolt of adrenaline for a 2010-era audience. Gone (but never forgotten) were the sepia tones of the aforementioned folk tones of yesteryear, and in their place was the power of the next step. The harmonies and heartbreak, the simple interplay of voices and instrumentation giving over to humanity, and the natural love and attention we have toward music.

Our natural attraction to emotion and love in 4/4 time came through on The Head and the Heart, with songs like the glorious “Rivers & Roads,” “Down in the Valley,” “Lost In My Mind,” and the uplifting bliss of “Sounds Like Hallelujah.” The Head and the Heart as a band was just that, reminding us that the best of folk music comes from our head and our heart. We don’t need music to be a math problem; just give us the artists willing to put the love, shine, poetry, and attention into it that’s needed to truly be special.

9

Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeroes, Up From Below (2009)

The Hippie Heart Of This Album’s “Home”

While the modern folk genre largely avoids the old-school hippie approach these days, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes are a fascinating and noteworthy outlier. Dropping their debut album, Up From Below, in 2009, the large group made up of members including vocalists Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos were just a little bit left of center in their style, but they had the charming charisma of a group that just knew how to make fun music together.

Songs like “Home,” “Janglin,” “Up From Below,” and “Jade!” fit this lightweight, team-friendly style of Ed Sharpe like a (possibly quite sparkly) glove, even if their tenure didn’t last too long. Much like The Head and the Heart, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes with Up From Below were a fun way of throwing modern folk back to the old days of people sunk into the joy of playing and loving this timeless art we know as music. No frills, just the love of pure excitement.

10

Noah Kahan, Stick Season (2022)

This Folk-Rocking Album Has A Little “Everything, Everywhere”

Vermont’s own Noah Kahan brewed up a massive breakout success with his third studio album, 2022’s Stick Season. The title, which refers to the time of season between summer and winter in the area of the country where Kahan is from, truly is a touching homage to that section of the Northeast United States and the feeling behind it. The good, the bad, and the in-between.

The story songs like the title track, “Everything Everywhere,” “Dial Drunk,” and “Homesick” put the listener directly in the driver’s seat of the evolution Kahan was experiencing while writing Stick Season during the COVID-19 pandemic. The singer-songwriter was burned out and chose to lean into the modern folk-rock sound to express those feelings. And with artists like Gracie Abrams, Post Malone, and Kacey Musgraves along to lend a hand, Kahan served as one of the latest reminders folk-rock is still powerful enough to fill up arenas.

11

Tyler Childers, Purgatory (2017)

“Born Again” In The Flames Of Country Folk

Kentucky singer-songwriter Tyler Childers has long had such a commanding aura of charm behind his sandpaper-rough vocals and equally tough lyrics, first unveiled to the world on his 2017 debut record Purgatory. Produced by fellow Kentucky country folk wunderkind Sturgill Simpson, Purgatory has that familiar Sturgill blend of country, folk, and bluegrass experimentation.

The son of a coal miner who grew up singing in church, Childers has the background to authentically talk about blue-collar struggles, touching on religion, daily hard living, evil, vices, and indiscretions in songs like the title track, “Banded Clovis,” “Born Again,” and “Tattoos.” He has that Springsteen-like working-man relatability that makes the listener care about his wins and losses. Tyler Childers keeps on bringing the much-needed truth to the art of modern folk music.

12

Dawes, Nothing Is Wrong (2011)

“How Far We’ve Come” Into Good Folk Rock

Folk-rockers in the band Dawes have always had a stellar knack for a strong style of West Coast-influenced sepia that reflects the genre quite well. The group, led by brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith, have expanded their sounds over the years, but it’s hard not to look back at 2011’s Nothing Is Wrong as their most defining statement in the folk-rock movement.

The rock never gets too loud here with songs like “Time Spent in Los Angeles,” “Fire Away,” “Coming Back to a Man,” and “A Little Bit Of Everything,” but is rather smooth, like Crosby, Stills, and Nash, or other Laurel Canyon stars of the day. Add in the strength of the group’s harmonies and endless earworm-worthy hooks, and modern folk-rock is in safe hands going ahead.