Rambles: folk roots

Albums are listed alphabetically by artist, then chronologically by title. Click on a title to read the review.

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G - I

The folk section covers a broad spectrum of mostly American folk (traditional and contemporary), folk-rock, singer-songwriter and indie recordings. Primarily, you can expect to find music which strikes at the heart of the folk tradition, where we spotlight innovative songwriters and performers who've laid the groundwork for the great folk tradition and who help to maintain that tradition today.

You'll find acoustic music here, as well as bands playing traditional music with electric guitars and bands playing new music on traditional instruments. Old-style folk meets rock 'n' roll, rockabilly and other stuff with its roots in folk traditions. Explore this section to find a tasty selection of musical possibilities.

While some people argue that "folk music" is by definition limited solely to traditional pieces, we have been reminded by others that songwriting itself is a proud tradition. If new music isn't being written and performed to expand the dog-eared playbook, those old songs are in danger of becoming hackneyed and worn-out cliches.

For folk music from the Canadian Maritimes, look here.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Gabriel's Hold
• The Struble Sessions (1999)

Marcel Gagnon
• Crazy Maker (2001)
• The Watchman - Tom Crow (2002)
• Captured (2004)

Gaia Consort
• Gaia Circles (1999)
• Secret Voices (2001)
• Evolve (2004)

Neil Gaiman
• Where's Neil When You Need Him? (2006)

Jessica Gall
• Little Big Soul (2010)

Lennie Gallant
• Breakwater (1988)
• Believing in Better (1991)
• The Open Window (1994)
• Live (2000)
• Le vent boheme (2002)

Galley Beggar
• Galley Beggar (2012)

Gallimaufry
• Dig Me a Ditch (1999)

Annie Gallup
• Swerve (2001)
• Half of My Crime (2006)

Peter Gallway
• Redemption (1999)

Ivor Game
• Happy Face (1998)

Gandalf Murphy & the Slambovian Circus of Dreams
• Flapjacks from the Sky (2004)
• The Great Unravel (2008)

Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band
• Almost Acoustic (2010)
• Ragged But Right (2010)

Abbie Gardner
• Abbie Gardner (1999)
• My Craziest Dream (2004)
• Hope (2011)
• Wishes on a Neon Sign (2018)

Tommy Gardner
• Kangaroo Waffles & Other Treasure (2007)

Bill Garrett
• Seems to Me (1999)
• Red Shoes, with Sue Lothrop (2003)

Gathering Time
• Keepsake (2016)
• Old Friends (2020)

Dick Gaughan
• Redwood Cathedral (1998)
• Outlaws & Dreamers (2001)
• Prentice Piece (2002)
• Lucky for Some (2006)
• Live at the Trades Club (2008)

Mary Gauthier
• Drag Queens In Limousines (1999)

Willard Gayheart & Friends
• At Home in the Blue Ridge (2019)

Deborah Gee
• Portal (2000)

Dan Gellert
• The Old-Time Tiki Parlour Presents (2014)

Rayna Gellert
• Workin's Too Hard (2017)

Vicki Genfan
• Up Close & Personal (2006)

Lisa Gentile
• Becoming (2000)

Nathan Clark George & Mark Stoffel
• A Midwinter's Eve (2006)

Colleen Geraghty
• Deep Ravines (2004)

Eric Gerber
• Boston by Friday (2000)

Paul Geremia
• Love, Murder & Mosquitos (2004)
• Love My Stuff (2011)

Ed Gerhard
• House of Guitars (2001)

Alice Gerrard
• Sing Me Back Home: The DC Tapes, 1965-1969, with Hazel Dickens (2018)

Dave Gibb
• Blood & Flame (2005)

Philip Gibbs
• The Petroleum Age (2011)
• Box Canyon Blues (2014)

Bob Gibson
• Funky in the Country (1974)
• Homemade Music (1978)
• The Perfect High (1980)
• Uptown Saturday Night (1984)
• The Bob Gibson Legacy Edition (2008)
• The Living Legend Years (2008)

Melissa Gibson
• Welcome to Stay (2003)
• In Your Corner (2006)

Melinda Gidaly
• Quiet Loathing Girl (1999)
• This Mortal Lust (2002)

Ronnie Gilbert & Holly Near
• Lifeline Extended (2002)

Vance Gilbert
• Somerville Live (2000)
• Side of the Road, with Ellis Paul (2003)
• Unfamiliar Moon (2005)
• Angels, Castles, Covers (2006)

Richard Gilewitz
• Synapse Collapse (1997)
• Thumbsing (2004)

Eliza Gilkyson
• Land of Milk & Honey (2004)
• Paradise Hotel (2005)
• Your Town Tonight (2007)
• Beautiful World (2008)
• Red Horse (2010)
• Roses at the End of Time (2011)
• The Nocturne Diaries (2014)
• Secularia (2018)
• 2020 (2020)
• Songs from the River Wind (2021)

Tony Gilkyson
• Goodbye Guitar (2006)

Jimmie Dale Gilmore
• One Endless Night (2000)

Thea Gilmore
• Rules for Jokers (2001)
• Loft Music (2005)

Joe Giltrap
• The Soldiers Tree (1998)
• The Mountains of Mourne (2001)
• Irish Charmer (2002)
• Distant Memories (2003)
• The Bravest, with Tom Paxton (2005)

Dominique Gizelle
• Deep Down (1999)

Brian Gladstone
• Psychedelic Pholk Psongs (2001)
• Alive & Picking, with Tony Quarrington (2003)
• A Time for New Beginnings (2005)

Howard Gladstone
• Sunflowers Light the Room (2002)
• Candles on the River (2005)

Glasnots
• Brave Spirits (1993)
• Re-Elect the Moon, with Terry Hinely (1997)

Steve Glotzer
• Life Imitates Art (2000)

Go Jane Go
• Go Jane Go (2013)

Eve Goldberg
• Crossing the Water (2003)
• A Kinder Season (2007)

Dennis Gomo
• Nippising (1999)

Good Lovelies
• Let the Rain Fall (2011)

Frank Goodman
• All the Way Down (2000)

Goodnight Moonshine
• Goodnight Moonshine (2014)

David Goodrich
• Accidentals of the West (2002)

Jenny Goodspeed
• Under the Ash Tree (2008)

James Gordon
• Pipe Street Dreams (1999)
• Mining for Gold: Twenty Years of Song Writing (2000)
• One Timeless Moment, with Sandy Horne (2002)
• Endomusia (2004)
• Coyote Calling (2013)

Robert Gordon
• Robert Gordon (1997)

Sax Gordon
• You Knock Me Out (2000)

John Gorka
• Old Futures Gone (2003)
• Writing in the Margins (2006)
• Red Horse (2010)
• Bright Side of Down (2014)
• Before Beginning (2016)

Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
• Spanish Dance Troupe (1999)

Gorman Del Greco
• Cafe Shadeaux (1998)

Judy Gorman
• Analog Girl in a Digital World (1998)

The Gourds
• Bolsa de Agua (2000)

Ellie Gowers
• Dwelling by the Weir (2022)

Annie Grace
• Take Me Out Drinking Tonight (2004)

Red Grammer
• Soul Man in a Techno World (2001)

Tracy Grammer
• The Verdant Mile (2004)

Tracy Grammer & Dave Carter
• Tanglewood Tree (2000)
• Drum Hat Buddha (2001)
• When I Go (2002)
• Little Blue Egg (2012)

The Granary Girls
• Wild Roses (2004)

Tom Granata
• Left Foot Lightfoot (2010)

Guy-Michael Grande
• Familiar Strangers (2001)

Greg Grant
• After the Crash (2001)
• Bisbe Street (2002)

Great Big Sea
• Great Big Sea (1993)
• Up (1995)
• Play (1997)
• Rant & Roar (1997)
• Turn (1999)
• performance review (1999)
• Road Rage (2000)
• Sea of No Cares (2002)
• Something Beautiful (2004)
• The Hard & the Easy (2005)
• Fortune's Favour (2008)

Great Northern
• Low Lonesome (1999)
• 3 (2002)

Buddy Greenbloom
• My Little Underground (2003)

Michele Dominguez Greene
• Ojo de Tiburon (2002)
• Luna Roja (2006)

The Green House Band
• Mirage (2003)

Greenland Whalefishers
• The Mainstreet Sword (1996)
• Loboville (2001)

Crow Greenspun
• Blood & Decision (2005)

Robin Greenstein
• Acousticness (1999)

Ray Greiche
• Everything's Fine (2000)

Charlotte Greig
• Night Visiting Songs (1998)
• Down in the Valley (1999)
• At Llangennith (2001)
• Winter Woods (2003)

Grey Eye Glances
• A Little Voodoo (2002)

The Grievous Angels
• Waiting for the Cage (1996)

Patty Griffin
• Children Running Through (2007)

Grace Griffith
• Sands of Time (2003)
• Passing Through (2014)

Nanci Griffith
• Once in a Very Blue Moon (1984/2002)
• Poet in My Window (1986/2002)
• There's a Light Beyond These Woods (1986/2002)
• Lone Star State of Mind (1987/2009)
• Winter Marquee (2002)

Groovelily
• Are We There Yet? (2003)

Mike Grosshandler
• Wrote Myself (2004)

Groundhogs
• The Lost Tapes Vol. 2 (2001)

Marcia Guderian Trio
• Full Moon (1999)

The Guggenheim Grotto
• Happy the Man (2009)

Michael Gulezian
• Language of the Flame (2001)

The Gumboots
• Search for a Passage (2000)

Dave Gunning
• Caught Between Shadows (2000)

Arlo Guthrie & Pete Seeger
• Precious Friend (1990)

Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family
• Go Waggaloo (2009)

Bruce Guthro
• Of Your Son (1998)
• Guthro (2001)

Debra Guy
• That's Miss Passive-Aggressive to You (2000)

Gypsy Soul
• Beneath the Covers: A Rediscovery (2007)

Christa Haberstock
• A Little More (1999)

Hackensaw Boys
• Give It Back (2002)
• Keep It Simple (2002)
• Look Out! (2007)
• Charismo (2016)
• A Fireproof House of Sunshine (2019)

Mark Haines & Tom Leighton
• Hand to Hand (2001)

The Haints Old Time Stringband
• Shout Monah (2009)

Joe Hall
• Travelling Without Deoderant: The Best of Joe Hall (1972-1988) (1999)

Rebecca Hall
• Rebecca Hall Sings (2000)
• Sunday Afternoon (2003)

Risa Hall
• Second Chance (2013)
• New York Nights (2014)

Sarah Hallman
• Sarah Hallman (2007)

Scott Hallock
• Stories (2001)

Tom Hambridge
• Balderdash (2000)

Jen Hamel
• Fine Small Storm (2001)

Hamell on Trial
• Songs for Parents Who Enjoy Drugs (2006)

Wayne Hamilton
• Lucky That Way (2000)

Marie-Lynn Hammond
• Marie-Lynn Hammond & Vignettes (1978/1983/1999)
• Impromptu (1985/1994/2000)
• Black & White ... & Shades of Grey (1990/2000)
• Impromptu (1985/1994/2000)

John L. Handcox
• Songs, Poems & Stories of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union (2004)

Spook Handy
• Breakfast at Bill's (2001)
• Whatcha Gonna Do (2007)

Larry Hanks
• The Last Wagon (2019)

Jim Hanlon
• From the Heart (2004)
• The Cormier Sessions: Vol. I (2015)
• The Cormier Sessions: Vol. II (2015)

Mick Hanly
• Free to Run (2004)
• Wish Me Well (2005)

Hannah's Field
• Warriors of Love (2007)

John Wort Hannam
• Two Bit Suit (2007)
• Queen's Hotel (2009)

Andrew Hardin
• The Best of Andrew Hardin (2002)

Ange Hardy
• Bare Foot Folk (2013)

Jack Hardy
• Omens (2000)

Ben Harper
• Diamonds on the Inside (2003)

Rachel Harrington
• City of Refuge (2008)
• Celilo Falls (2011)
• Makin' Our House a Honkytonk (2012)

Corey Harris, Alvin Youngblood Hart & Guy Davis
• Fight On! True Blues Vol. 2 (2026)

Emmylou Harris & the Nash Ramblers
• Ramble in Music City (2021)

JP Harris' Dreadful Wind & Rain
• Don't You Marry No Railroad Man (2021)

Kemp Harris
• Sometimes in Bad Weather (2003)
• Edenton (2006)

Marilyn Harris
• Between the Lines (1993)

MaryAnn Harris
• Crow Girls (2011)

Vicky Harris
• Touch (2002)

Christina Harrison
• Wee Folk Songs (1996)

Jeffrey Harrison
• Jeffrey Harrison (2005)

Joy Eden Harrison
• Unspoken (1999)

Lynn Harrison
• Lynoleum (2001)
• Learning Curve (2003)

Tim Harrison
• Tim Harrison (1999)
• Wheatfield with Crows (2003)

Frankie Hart & the FarAway Ensemble
• Hitotsu (2000)

John Hartford
• Hamilton Ironworks (2001)

John Hartford Stringband
• Memories of John (2010)

Lis Harvey
• Topography (2002)

John Hasbrouck
• Ice Cream (2002)

Juliana Hatfield
• Total System Failure (2000)
• Beautiful Creature (2001)
• Gold Stars 1992-2002: The Juliana Hatfield Collection (2002)
• In Exile Deo (2004)

Jens Hausmann
• Back on the Track (1999)
• Precious Moments (2015)

Chuck Hawthorne
• Fire Out of Stone (2019)

The Haymarket Squares
• Light It Up (2016)

Kevin Hearn & Thin Buckle
• Night Light (2003)

Ray Hearne
• Broad Street Ballads (2001)

Anne Heaton
• Black Notebook (2002)

Ingrid Heldt
• Love Matters (2002)

Hem
• Rabbit Songs (2002)

Colin Henderson
• Highway of Diamonds: The Songs of Bob Dylan (2003)
• Shifting Sands (2005)

Hamish Henderson
• A' the Bairns o' Adam (2003)

Terri Hendrix
• The Ring (2002)
• Celebrate the Difference (2006)

Christie Hennessy
• Stories for Sale (2005)

The Henry Girls
• Between Us (2003)
• December Moon (2013)

Jim Henry
• The Wayback (1999)

Priscilla Herdman
• The Road Home (2003)

Here Nor There
• Conversations (1998)

Marc Herman
• Neon (2003)

Priscilla Hernandez
• Ancient Shadows: The Ghost & the Fairy (2006)

Greg Herriges
• It Plays Me (2005)

Caroline Herring
• Twilight (2001)
• Lantana (2008)
• Golden Apples of the Sun (2009)
• Camilla (2012)

Lara Herscovitch
• There (2002)
• Juror Number 13 (2006)
• Highway Philosophers (2020)

Barry Hertz
• A Cowboy's Prayer (2006)

Hesperus
• Early American Roots (1997)

Carolyn Hester
• The Tradition Years (2006)
• We Dream Forever (2010)

Jean Hewson & Christina Smith
• Like Ducks! (1998)
• August Gale (2006)

John Hiatt
• Crossing Muddy Waters (2000)

Bill Hibbets
• Bricks & Trees (2007)

Chris Hickey
• Razzmatazz (2009)

Susan Hickey
• Water Meets Sand (2002)

Sara Hickman
• Motherlode (2006)

Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks
• Beatin' the Heat (2000)

Leigh Hilger
• Casting Shadows (1999)

Byron Hill
• Gravity ... & other things that keep you down to Earth (1999)

Emma Hill
• The Black & Wretched Blue (2013)

Emma Hill & her Gentlemen Callers
• Clumsy Seduction (2009)

James Hill
• A Flying Leap (2006)

Michael Hill
• My Blue Christmas (2006)

The HillBenders
• The HillBenders (2018)

Bob Hillman
• Playing God (1999)

Naama Hillman
• Living Room (2004)

Anne Hills
• Under American Skies, with Tom Paxton (2001)
• Faire Winds Live, with Bill Jones & Aoife Clancy (2003)
• Best of Friends, with Tom Paxton & Bob Gibson (2004)
• The Things I Notice Now (2012)

Donal Hinely
• We Built a Fire (2002)

Terry Hinely & Glasnots
• Re-Elect the Moon (1997)

Tish Hinojosa
• Sign of Truth (2000)

Matt & Erica Hinton
• Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp (2006)

Daniel Ho
• Coolest Drop of Rain (2002)

Cheryl Hoenemeyer
• Crowded Bed (2001)

Andi Hoffman & B-Goes
• Basil for Nino (1999)
• Living in the Big Wide World (2002)

Amelia Hogan
• Taking Flight (2022)
• Burnished (2025)

Hog-Eyed Man
• 1 (2014)
• 2 (2015)
• 3 (2016)
• Old World Music of the Southern Appalachians (2018)
• Kicked Up a Devil of a Row (2023)
• Across the Sea (2025)