Annie’s Picks - The Folk Edit
Introducing Annie, our boots-on-the-ground intern correspondent in Nashville, TN. In her senior year studying Entertainment Business at Belmont University, Annie is also very active in the local music scene…If you’re lucky, you might even catch her performing on occasion. Here, she presents her musings on folk.
Nashville is stereotypically a country music town, but after four years of living here I’ve learned there’s a lot more to the scene than country. The truth is that all sorts of American-made genres of music were born and thrive here. Nashville-folk revival is everywhere, from Broadway to the Luck Reunion stages. It started blossoming in the 60s, when artists like Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger brought folk music into mainstream music. Venues like The Bluebird Cafe, The Basement East, The Grand Old Opry, and the Ryman have showcased folk music for decades. As folk music blended with country and rock influences, Americana emerged as a defining genre in Nashville. The city became home to a new wave of folk-inspired songwriters, from John Prine and Emmylou Harris to Steve Earle and Gillian Welch, who kept the tradition of storytelling alive.
Nashville continues to be a breeding ground for artists and songwriters who honor folk tradition. A new wave of musicians is carrying the torch, blending old traditions with fresh, modern influences. Some of my favorite modern folk artists today include Emma Ogier, Billy Strings, Mali Velasquez, and Rayland Baxter. These artists blend the traditional folk sound with a modern twist, appealing to the mainstream audience and allowing folk to find its way back into the music scene.
At Luck Reunion, we celebrate this very spirit—artists who honor tradition while forging their paths. Folk music has always been about storytelling, authenticity, and connection, and that’s exactly what we strive to showcase. Whether it’s a stripped-down acoustic performance or a foot-stomping folk-rock set, this revival is a reminder that folk isn’t just a genre—it’s a movement, and Nashville is right at the heart of it.
-Annie
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