Folk Punk is what you get when you combine the simplicity and authenticity of Punk Rock with, well, the simplicity and authenticity of Folk Music. Like Punk Rock, the genre leans on Three Chords and the Truth, with simple song structure and an emphasis on sincere or sarcastic lyrics over musicality. It also shares punk's DIY culture and associated production values. Like Folk Music, folk punk makes heavy if not sole use of acoustic instruments, including traditional folk instruments. Generally, Folk Punk is faster and has more of a punky beat than folk music, and is characterized by Harsh Vocals that may be nasal, off-key, or otherwise non-traditional.
Celtic Punk, which fuses traditional Irish Music with punk and rock sounds, can be considered a subgenre. Anarchist punk is another subgenre that dips into the Protest Song heritage of folk music to focus on anti-Capitalist and anarchist political messages. Some artists may overlap with Anti-Folk as well.
Compare Street Punk, Alternative Country, Folk Metal.
Folk Punk bands include:
- Abraxas (the band led by Shanir Blumenkranz, a frequent John Zorn collaborator)
- Against Me!
- AJJ
- Apes Of The State
- Covey
- 2021 - Class Of Cardinal Sin
- Crywank
- Days N' Daze
- Defiance Ohio
- The Dreadnoughts
- Dropkick Murphys
- Flogging Molly
- The Front Bottoms
- The Gaslight Anthem
- Gogol Bordello
- Kimya Dawson
- Mischief Brew
- Misery Loves Co
- Pat the Bunny (performed under various names including Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains and Wingnut Dishwashers Union)
- The Pogues (Islands of the North Atlantic Trope Codifier)
- Psalters
- Stoj Snak
- La Tarrancha, a folk-ska band from Spain
- The Window Smashing Job Creators
- Violent Femmes (US Trope Codifier)
- Jason Webley
