Modern American Country is often viewed as a negative in terms of music. Every song viewed to be the same type of thing over and over again. A lot of people will say they listen to everything except for country. I listen to country occasionally, but there are much better sub-genres of American Folk music than Modern American Country. Why am I specifying American in this? It's just the genres of music I am focusing on. There are other folk music from other cultures across the globe. A folk subgenre that I like that isn't American is Nordic Folk Metal.

What genres would I suggest instead of American Country when it comes to that folky vibe that some like myself enjoy?

My first suggestion is Bluegrass. Bluegrass originates in the Appalachian region of the American East. It started to develop in the 1940s. It has characteristics including rapid tempos and complex chord changes. Common instruments used in bluegrass include fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin, and bass. Contemporary bluegrass began to develop in the 1980s. Contemporary bluegrass often has progressive themes to the songs. A band that is popular in recent bluegrass is The Dead South. Their song In Hell I'll Be In Good Company has over 292 million views on Youtube.

Another great sub genre of folk music is folk punk. Folk punk began to develop a little bit in the 80s with bands like Violent Femmes, but really got it's grounds in the early 2000s. Bands like Mischief Brew and Ramshackle Glory leading the way with this sub-genre. In the past 5 years, this genre has gotten a lot more traction online. An example of this traction is songs like Body Terror by AJJ and Twin Sized Mattress by The Front Bottoms becoming popular due to the app Tiktok. Common instruments in folk punk include banjo, guitar, harmonica, trumpets, and other string instruments.

When it comes to older folk music, you can't go wrong with 1960s folk music. A lot of the anti war songs are really great to listen to. A band I would suggest is Peter, Paul, and Mary. They were known for their anti-war and protest songs as well as their children's songs like the popular *Puff the Magic Dragon*. Arlo Guthrie, son of Woody Guthrie who wrote This Land is Your Land, is an icon of 60s-70s folk music. A lot of his songs are more comical in nature. Alice's Restaurant is a song by Arlo Guthrie that is an 18 minute long comedical song against the draft while also being silly and fun.

Folk music offers a lot more variety than the Popular Country music that is often featured on the Radio.