Folk Music: Everything You Never Knew You Wanted to Know

Are you of the mind that all folksingers are long-haired hippies with dirty fingernails, who smell of patchouli and are adamantly against the war? Do you think that folk music is something strange and random that took place in the 60s, and quickly died out with the advent of disco and hair bands? Are you so absolutely deluded as to think that the only people who listen to folk music are ethanol-advocating college kids and sandals-wearing baby boomers wishing to hold on to their glory days?

Okay, let's face the truth, you're not totally off-base with some of your prejudices. But before you go trampsing around a folk festival or tuning into your local NPR affiliate for their singer/songwriter hour, you might want to school yourself a bit on what exactly it is about which you've clearly got so many pre-conceived notions.

Lucky for you, I put it all in one place. Stop shaking your head and insisting you're too cool for folk music. Put down your hair product and your sunglasses and trust me. Just read this, 'kay?