Folk music is an entity based on tradition. With that tradition, there is a purity in holding the songs in their best possible state to transcend generations. However, the process of preservation (or even memory) is subject to the influences and inspirations of the player. Travelling from place to place, songcatchers like Lead Belly could collect at least 500 songs. Steeped in Folk and Blues, Lead Belly established the "frame" for the modern Folk singer: play the traditional ones everybody knows (sometimes with a dash of local dialect) and write new ones based on the feelings aroused by the events of the day (Hitler, Harlow, and Howard Hughes.) This duality of existence knowingly played to the crowd and created a genuine interest in other Folk singers that would traverse down the same roads.
In 1965, Folk music was experiencing the peak of its boom. A revival that was seeded in the Peer sessions in Bristol,TN and the WPA preservation programs that kicked off during the Great Depression became sort of an "everyman"-styled music in the Sixties. Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and countless other longtime performers saw the Seekers, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Judy Collins fuse Folk music with a Pop sensibility. Since they all played the same festivals and events, the cultural petri-dish was there to hand off certain ongoing traits to each other - perhaps ensuring one's survival.
Rock N'Roll was barely 10 years old. It had already witnessed the simultaneous loss of nearly all of its standard-bearers at once. It had seen them replaced with squeaky-clean teen idols briefly before the wave of British Beatlemania practically rewrote the book overnight. Folk music had one facet that youthful Rock N'Roll did not have - its ongoing acknowledgement as "protest music." In hindsight, one can see that the ability to protest via Rock N'Roll is definitely present and that with Folk being so popular it was only a matter of time before Folk fused with Rock.
Protest music was close to Folkies and starting in 1959 with the Newport Folk Festival, they had a venue for all voices of dissent to sing out. The festival provided a lot of freedom, bringing in singers from around the world and even organizing SNCC activists to march through Newport in 1963. The environment was not only primed for change, it was ready to export its energy to the world at large. In 1962, festival organizers even took a major risk by canceling a pre-announced second set for the wildly popular Peter, Paul and Mary for a new protest singer cut from the cloth of Guthrie, Seeger, and Leadbelly.
Bob Dylan was a coffeehouse staple. Signed to Columbia by John Hammond, he had seen his first two records develop a mostly cult following. One song garnered a lot of attention from the industry. "Blowin' In The Wind" asked many questions but gave no answers. Yet it was not nihilistic and it borrowed from an old Nova Scotian Folk song. Many artists heard their voices in it, but Peter, Paul and Mary made it Folk-as-protest music's breakthrough on the Pop charts in 1963. One year earlier, they gave up their festival-concluding performance to Bob Dylan. With a set consisting of only his original protest songs ("With God On Our Side" and "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall,") Dylan lit up Newport and became a star.
By 1965, Folk music was a huge attraction. However, the larger addition to the audience needed a bigger bang than what they dubbed as "old-time music." Even the Beatles were inspired by Dylan on the Folk-based "Rubber Soul." Like Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dylan's songs were being covered everywhere. Like Dylan, young men strapped on a six-string and left a harmonica dangling from their neck to document the apocalyptic feelings beginning to circle everyone. Whether Dylan saw this imitation as a sign of change or just knew he had to make a different, worldwide statement remains to be unearthed. With Chicago's Butterfield Blues Band and their Maxwell Street electric vibe, he found his voice - and likely worked so fast and furious that it never occurred to him how the Folk community would receive it.
On the radio, his lesser-known "Mr.Tambourine Man" was a transatlantic #1 from Los Angeles-based The Byrds. That "jingle-jangle" was shortened to "jangle" thus becoming a key tenet to what was dubbed in July 1965 as "Folk-Rock." A movement was developing whether Dylan saw it as an influence or not. Protest music was making its way into Rock and even Country. So it is understandable that Dylan would conclude that he no longer needs to write "Talkin'" or "Blues" songs to fit in. His place was outside of them all, taking in the full available freedom, just like that night at Newport in 1962, to do what he wanted.
March 1965 saw the release of "Bringing It All Back Home" where one side featured him playing with a rock band before going back to acoustic songs on the second side. In the leading Folk rag "Sing Out!," it was described as "a freak and a parody." July trotted out the rule-breaking six-minute single "Like A Rolling Stone" which Columbia actually "cancelled" due to its length. Shaun Considine at the label actually smuggled a copy out and took it to a local club. After it played one time, the crowd demanded to hear it again and again all night. The next day, radio stations in New York City were flooded with calls for it resulting in program directors contacting Columbia for copies. Five days after its official release, Dylan was set to play the closing set at Newport.
When Dylan took the stage that night for the fourth year in a row, the cracks in the foundation of Folk Music finally gave way. The day before, Dylan gave a short acoustic "workshop" set and was unhappy to hear festival organizers complaining about an earlier electric set from the Butterfield Blues Band. In addition, he remembered how Johnny Cash played electric in 1964 to brickbats from the audience. So, Dylan decided to take the whole Butterfield Blues Band onstage and give them the same feeling of "Like A Rolling Stone" sweeping over listeners throughout the world.
It must have been seeing the electric instruments, hearing the rumble of the electric bass, and feeling that jolt when one is unprepared. Some might say it was a violation of expectations. However, Dylan fans - especially in 1965 - should have seen this coming. When they tore into "Maggie's Farm," the booing quickly outweighed the cheers. Moving on the chart-ascending hit "Like A Rolling Stone" failed to improve the mood. So after an early version of "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train To Cry," they ended the set and left the stage. Here's where the myths begin. Pete Seeger threatened to cut cables with an axe. The performers were booing, not the crowd. It was even a hostile crowd for other performers as well. However one tends to assign reason to this incident, Dylan took notice and refused to back down from going electric.
A month later at a stadium show in Forest Hills, NY, Dylan told the band right upfront "the audience might yell or boo...(you) will make the best music you are capable of." Changing out the Butterfield Blues Band for Ronnie Hawkins's backing band, The Hawks, Dylan mounted a lengthy world tour. Changing the structure of his shows, Dylan would first come out and play acoustic, giving the crowd what they wanted. For the second set, the band would join him for the "Rock" set. Forty-five shows would present mixed results. Outside of the now-famous cry of "Judas!," Dylan outlasted several other weird incidents including an audience blasting their own harmonicas during his set in Edinburgh and two nights at the hallowed Royal Albert Hall where even the Beatles were trying to calm the hecklers as people were walking out.
No matter how you look at these events, one can see that Dylan knew that Folk music was in need of an adrenaline shot from the fast-growing youth culture. In addition, Protest music could be heard everywhere. It was not limited to songs that must be explicitly composed about their subject. If anything, while effective, they still wind up being dated. So Dylan traced his Folk roots back to the Blues and brought an electrifying shot of it into the system without provocation or even the best timing. All of those artists who followed have Dylan to thank for widening the road. Soon Electric music will be everywhere. In every club, bar, dive, house party, and gathering.
In 1966, Newport brought in more electric acts including Howlin' Wolf and The Lovin' Spoonful. They were openly received by the audience as was Folk music being performed on electric instruments.
NEW MUSIC THIS WEEK
MUSCADINE BLOODLINE - Longleaf Lo-Fi [LP/CD](Stancaster/The Orchard)
Before Gary Stanton and Charlie Muncaster come here (with friends) with their "unplugged" style show on January 23rd, "Longleaf Lo-Fi" captures the pair in a cabin in Poplarville just pounding out their emotional Country/Rock as close to its origin as possible. The harmonies are crisp as usual, but the hollow space around them allows the songs to flow straight into each other making their movements between honor, respect, and love; and heartache, longing, and loss feel like they were written from the road and from home. Without the studio, Muscadine Bloodline have crafted their best album to date.
PINK FLOYD - Wish You Were Here 50 [2CD/3LP/4LP+BLU-RAY BOX](Legacy)
In a truly epic fashion, the middle album of Pink Floyd's classic 1972-1979 gets the royal treatment. With alternate versions (the doubled-vocal on a slithering "Have A Cigar") and guests (legendary Stephane Grappelli on the title cut,) the cutting-room floor shows a lot of experimentation in the process ("The Machine Song" as it is known here.) As if that was not attractive enough, they also sequence all nine parts of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" together and add a complete never-before-released live show from the 1975 tour stop in Los Angeles.
HEALTH - CONFLICT DLC [RUBY LP/CD](Loma Vista)
Prolific and dangerously underrated, Noise/Aggro trio HEALTH launches another well-timed sonic assault. Produced by Stint who guided their last record "Rat Wars" to brilliance, and mixed by Drew Fulk (Knocked Loose,) "CONFLICT DLC" aims for both Eighties underground dancefloor Industrial domination ("Ordinary Loss") and Ministry-styled machine-gun Alt.Metal ("Vibe Cop.")
FLIPTURN - Live From Orlando [FIRE LP](Dualtone)
One of the great discoveries of 2025 exits the year with a cool and confident live set recorded on their home turf of Florida. Flipturn pulls a whopping 23 songs from their two albums and three EPs reaching all the way back to 2018 including a fiery workout with the crowd on "Sad Disco."
SILVANA ESTRADA - Vendran Suaves Lluvias [LP/CD](Glassnote)
Mexican-American singer Estrada released one of 2025's most intoxicating albums. Vendran is a thing of beauty - even if that beauty is the result of crushing heartbreak. Like the jazz singers of old, Estrada leaves you hanging on every pause, trill, and the way she trails off vocally. "Dime" is bonecrushing in its tenderness and intimacy as she coats the wrecking ball of love in strings and subtle guitar. While "Como Un Pajaro" is a classic ballad in waiting for the right singer and translation. For all the finality Estrada packs into her album, "Vendran" leaves you lightheaded and giddy for her future success.
LUDWIG FORSSELL - Death Stranding 2: On The Beach [CLEAR 3LP](Mondo/Milan)
If there is one release to inherit the left-field success of the video game soundtrack that c418 provided for Minecraft, it is Forssell's endless grab bag of compositions for "Death Stranding 2." While every cut is haunted by ghosts, all together they paint a beautiful, and yet bleak portrait of how it feels to lose and continue to search in spite of that.
LORD OF THE LOST - Opvs Noir Vol. 2 [LP/CD](Napalm)
Germany Lord of The Lost reacts to its home country's fascination with Power Metal to forge a new Industrial/Alt.Metal band boasting male, female, and growling vocals. On paper, it reads like a lot. In practice, they find huge moments of drama ("Would You Walk With Me Through Hell") as they slingshot back and forth. Maximalist Metal is nothing new (especially in the age of Sleep Token,) Lord of the Lost introduce a Glam Metal sheen and radio-ready melodicism. It's no wonder Steve Harris chose them to open for Iron Maiden, two members were drafted to help with KMFDM, and they competed in Eurovision.
THIS IS LORELEI - Holo Boy [LP/CD](Double Double Whammy)
Nate Amos is too talented. Having released the brilliant rule-shattering Anti-Pop record "It's A Beautiful Place" with Rachel Brown as Water From Your Eyes (and securing a choice opening slot for Hayley Williams) should have been enough for 2025. However, just like his fantastic This Is Lorelei record "Box For Buddy, Box For Star" from 2024, "Holo Boy" is funny, sweet, and self-deprecating ("I'm All..") with a sweeping Pop element blended with Townshend-ian melancholia and McCartney-esque melodic bliss. Culled from the nearly 70 releases on his Bandcamp page, "Holo Boy" is his collection of what is the best of the best. Oh, and no worries, he already has the next album written.
BLOOD CULTURES - Skate Story Vol. 1 [RED 2LP](Many Hats)
One of the most promising new Electronic/Dance groups of 2025 ends the year with their fourth album collecting some of their most inventive singles and more. The New Jersey group eradicate boundaries upfront with streams of samples, Hip-Hop-based drum patterns, and well-programmed synths. A Blood Cultures track does not reveal itself to you immediately. On "Emptylands" (one of the best singles of 2025,) they ooze beneath your feet with bendy Eighties synths and a swishy beat before dropping a Daft Punk-ian filter riff. "Unarchiver" begins just as unknowingly, but they immediately hit the House beat and the contrast between the old-time choir sample and the booming rhythm is entrancing. Blood Cultures use every tool at their disposal, but never let on that they are adding them for show. "Skate Story Vol. 1" is in opposition to most of today's EDM that goes big, hard and blatant to grab you - for that reason, it is a must.
TEXAS IS THE REASON [ORANGE LP](Revelation)
AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY TRAIL OF DEAD - Madonna [MAGENTA LP](Rising Empire)
THE DISMEMBERMENT PLAN - Emergency & I [ORANGE LP](Barsuk)
For anyone doubting the connection of Emo to AmerIndie-based Punk Rock, here are three reasons. Ex-members of Shelter, 108, Resurrection and Fountainhead joined forces in 1995 for a streamlined but loud attack with blistering melodies ("If It's Here When We Get Back It's Ours") and the Nineties LOUD/quiet/LOUD formula reconfigured ("Dressing Cold.") Here's one of the bands that fits in the Venn diagram between Husker Du, Fugazi, and classic Midwest Emo.
While Texas showed several traits of Post-Hardcore, that moniker was destined for the brutal beauty of a true Texas band, Conrad Keely's Trail of Dead. Outside of making thunderous squalls of noise, Trail of Dead could exude drama in their quietest moments as well. For this 1999 album (originally on Merge,) they pumped up the chaos before discovering the "calm before the storm" formula that would land them on Interscope (and David Letterman) on their true classic 2002's "Source Codes and Tags."
Also signed to Interscope (but then dropped) was DC's Dismemberment Plan. While not an Emo album per se. "Emergency & I" can conjure just as much emotion and energy as the rest. Travis Morrison and his crazed Go-Go infected rhythmic ideas mixed with Devo-esque herky-jerky breaks were all the rage in 1999. Their version of Art Punk was more refined at times ("Spider In The Snow') so that when it lost total control ("Gyroscope") it functioned as a true release. Morrison's voice in writing stood above all. He could recount the events of the day and make you feel as if you were there. A party invitation accessed a gamut of emotions. The locked vault of relationships stayed close detail-wise but cracked the foundation around it on what should have been their breakthrough hit "What Do You Want Me To Say?" Amazingly, they practically put out the record themselves and then one day got phone calls to open for Pearl Jam in Europe.
FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM - Dawnrazor [WHITE LP/CD](Beggars Banquet)
Duster-clad cinematic Goth rockers lost in the transition going into Alternative, Fields of the Nephilim were custom-made for MTV (1981-2025.) Their 1987 debut was sweeping Morricone-sampled music that was dark but propulsive. The chorused guitars ("Slow Kill") and Carl McCoy's Gothic croon were clearly inspired by Sisters of Mercy, Siouxsie and The Banshees, and the others of their day. However, Nephilim was going deeper into bleakness while the others were getting out. Despite having several brilliant singles ("Preacher Man" and the galloping "Power," plus the frightful deep cut "Vet For The Insane,") their jet-black reverb-drenched Spaghetti Western style was too late. By 1989, they would grow more modern in sound leaving behind the excellent "Dawnrazor" and its follow up "The Nephilim" as statements of what could have been. While their modern-day followers would not likely dust themselves in Mother Pride's flour to look as weather-beaten, bands like Creeper, Gatecreeper, Watain, and Immortal cite them as a major influence.
Mik Davis is the record store manager at T-Bones Records & Cafe in Hattiesburg.
