Folk Rock
Folk rock combines the songs and acoustic feel of folk music with the electric instruments and drum beat of rock.
It began in the United States and Britain in the mid-1960s, when folk musicians plugged in and rock bands began covering folk songs. The usual sound is chiming electric twelve-string or acoustic guitar, vocal harmonies and lyrics that tell stories or comment on society. It is gentler and more word-focused than standard rock.
Artists it is known for: The Byrds, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Fairport Convention.
- Family
- Rock
- On Spotify
- A current genre
- What it is
- A genre
- From
- United States and United Kingdom, mid-1960s
- Trackify listeners who play it
- 9%
About 7,400 of 83,000 Trackify listeners with public profiles have folk rock among their top artists of the last four weeks. Rounded; updated 13 November 2026.
Folk Rock artists
Billy Joel
Eagles
George Harrison
Bob Dylan
Paul McCartney
Steely Dan
America
The Velvet Underground
Mumford & Sons
Neil Young
The folk rock artists most Trackify listeners have in their top fifty. Each opens on Spotify.
Sources
The definition is written for this site from open sources, and was checked against them on 13 November 2026.