The untold story of Johnny Cash, protest singer and Native American activist, and his feud with the music industry
By Antonino D'Ambrosio Nov 8, 2009
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Bowerbirds make restless lullabies about the joy of holding hands among the squirrels and the poison ivy
By Heather Havrilesky
July 21, 2009
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A conversation about disco, snap peas and rock 'n' roll (plus a special performance for the bunnies).
May 26, 2009
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The author of "It Still Moves" discusses her road trip through America's musical past and future -- and why we still yearn for the music of yore.
By Judy Berman
September 2, 2008
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We're working together but she's so flaky it feels like she's working against me.
By Cary Tennis
April 17, 2008
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Why the dark and madly poetic Destroyer is my favorite rock band in ages.
By Kevin Berger
March 31, 2008
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Quintessential American music.
July 4, 2007
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A Zeppelin-esque riff anchors this simple but effective song.
June 20, 2007
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Dylanisms and rusticisms abound on this modern folk song.
June 14, 2007
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One country legend pays tribute to another.
June 11, 2007
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The spirit of folk was everywhere this year, with a slew of tribute albums to various new hybrid forms -- from freak-folk to folk-punk and beyond.
By Andrew Marcus
December 30, 2006
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Greil Marcus and Sean Wilentz discuss their amazing new anthology of writing about the American ballad -- and wonder whether Republicans sing better songs of passion and murder than Democrats do.
By Charles Taylor
November 17, 2004
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Sure, critics make fun of him. But sensitive-guy singer-songwriter John Mayer has put the soul back in folk and the sex back in vanilla.
By Keith Harris
October 28, 2003
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English singer-songwriter Thea Gilmore, at just 23, is the genuine heiress to the Bob Dylan-Leonard Cohen-Tom Waits legacy of dark, brilliant indie folk-rock.
By David Bowman
September 29, 2003
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Christopher Guest and his "Best in Show" cohorts are back, mocking the survivors of '60s folk music in this work of sideways comic genius.
By Stephanie Zacharek
April 16, 2003
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Two new books make it clear why Bob Dylan had to ditch the phony, self-righteous Greenwich Village folk scene.
By Allen Barra
May 14, 2001
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Broadside published songs by writers who wanted to change the world -- including a young Bob Dylan. A five-CD set marches through the great folk mag's past.
By Ira Robbins
September 19, 2000
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Woody Guthrie's "Dust Bowl Ballads" drew the road map for Bob Dylan and Ramblin' Jack. A reissue recaptures the parched glory.
By David Hill
July 27, 2000
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The English folkie left behind three perfect records when he died of an overdose in 1974. It took a recent Volkswagen commercial for them to find an audience.
By Douglas Wolk
June 19, 2000
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Mystic and record collector Harry Smith knew life was cruel, yet his folk "Anthology" promised a way to "see America changed by music."
By Andy Battaglia and Rennie Sparks
June 14, 2000
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English folkie David Gray is a star in the U.K. Can some electronic blips and an endorsement from Dave Matthews win him an audience in the States?
By Joe Heim
March 30, 2000
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Zen cowboy Jimmie Dale Gilmore expresses the beauty of sadness and the perfection of sorrow.
By David Cantwell
March 9, 2000
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"Guarapero: Lost Blues 2" collects Will Oldham's stream-of-consciousness rants and odd tales of sexual dysfunction.
By Seth Mnookin
February 25, 2000
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Forget the solipsistic neurotica of Fiona Apple. On "To the Teeth" righteous babe Ani DiFranco feels the funk and represents Buffalo, N.Y.
By Michelle Goldberg
November 17, 1999
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Guitarist and "All Things Considered" commentator Adrian Legg tells funny stories, but his guitar playing is no laughing matter.
By Seth Mnookin
October 28, 1999
The bitter tears of Johnny Cash
Critics' Picks: Folk me all night
Rabbit Bites interviews folk singer Dar Williams
All-Americana girl
I'm a stage manager with an unmanageable partner
The music lover
Song of the Day: "Rabbit in a Log," the Stanley Brothers
Folk revival
Love is red, death is blue
His body (of work) is a wonderland
Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands
"A Mighty Wind"
Don't look back
Uncertain, unfair and bloodthirsty
Glenn Greenwald
War Room
Broadsheet