A Resurgence of Folk Music

Seattle has a music scene built on noise. We birthed grunge from our asphalt loins, and in the many years since, we've become a hotbed for new trends in the amplification and production of beautiful, sweet noise. With music reaching a level of accessibility unknown prior to the advent of digital production, our noisy little burg has been overrun with new acts focused on pushing the envelope of complex craziness. The Cops, The Valley, The Hopscotch Boys, Black Eyes and Neckties, Truckasaurus—the list goes on and on. It's an enjoyable madhouse, but at times, too much. Thus it comes as no surprise that amidst all the ruckus, Seattle is in the middle of its own little roots and folk revival.

American folk and roots music is composed of simple arrangements, dynamic voices and acoustic instrumentation. Subtle drumming, mandolin and an occasional slide guitar add accompaniment, but these elements take a backseat to the vocals and guitar. The current crop has eschewed the singer-songwriter mold, opting for the multi-instrumental approach of the aforementioned crazies while maintaining the down-home, folksy feel of American roots music. In the tree-lined towns of the Pacific Northwest, a new home for folk music is beginning to form, bolstered by acts like the Fleet Foxes, Sera Cahoone, and The Cave Singers.

Take the recent series of successes by local indie folk-rockers, Fleet Foxes: a recent signing to Seattle indie-colossus Sub Pop; a rash of sold out shows with Portland's own Blitzen Trapper; and a "Best New Music" nod from today's most prominent musical tastemakers, Pitchfork Media. All of this capped off by a recent appearance in The New York Times’ weekly new-music column, "Playlist." To say the least, it has been a hell of a couple of months for the awesomely talented fivesome. No other band currently crafting music in the Northwest better exemplifies the resurgence of roots music. Robin Pecknold and the rest of the band combine diamond-sharp melodies and sleeve-worn influences (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; The Band, etc.) with the faintest echo of instrumentation, drawing the listener in to the room-filling swell of their combined voices. It's impressive and powerful, and their recent comet-like rise to popularity is absolutely without surprise.

Sub Pop is helping Seattle and the rest of the world rediscover their love for folk with a rash of new artists like Sera Cahoone, the former drummer of Seattle favorite Carissa's Wierd (once home to Band of Horses frontman Ben Bridwell and Grand Archives front-man Mat Brookes). Where Fleet Foxes focus on a group dynamic, Sera Cahoone embodies roots-laden female singer-songwriters from the heyday of folk. Her voice dips in to the lower registers, hinting at Judee Sill and Joan Baez influences. What Cahoone has that Fleet Foxes lack is narrative storytelling ability; a way to wrap the sadness of her exceptional voice in to tales of loves lost and good times past. Cahoone will kick off a tour with Grand Archives after Sasquatch Festival in May.

Grand Archives themselves have achieved profound success for a band still in its infancy. The group was started in March of 2007. By year’s end, they’d toured with Modest Mouse, signed to Sub Pop and subsequently released their self-titled debut in 2008. The album was a success of pop and Americana complete with whistling harmonies and bluesy hooks. The success of the disbanded Carissa’s Wierd members is truly unprecedented —a three way splint, and yet each stock continues to rise without end in sight.

The Cave Singers, bits and pieces of Pretty Girls Make Graves, Hint Hint and Cobra High could be referred to the forebears of the recent folk explosion in Seattle. Their music sounds torn from deepest woods of Appalachia— slow, twangy, porch-rocking tracks brought together by the eccentric holler of lead singer Pete Quirk. It's almost primal in sound, and draws from an entirely different well of folk music. The Cave Singers were signed to Matador last year, and are currently touring in support of Invitation Songs.

The epicenter of it all is Ballard’s Tractor Tavern, home to a mix of music they describe as, “Rock, alternative country, rockabilly, groove & psychedelia, celtic, cajun & zydeco, folk, blues, jazz and bluegrass.” With the fusion of twang into the current indie rock sound, the Tractor has served as springboard for countless acts of the convoluted genre they cater to. The venue is also a proving ground for promising local talent like Jared Clifon, Carrie Biell, Carrie Akre, the Maldives, Grand Hallway and Widower.

There is a plethora of reasons why classic, American music is making a resurgence right now: a response to the current dirge of noise-rock and electronic music, a return to the rebellious ideals of the war protesting sixties, perhaps just the musical cycle of time turning over once again. In the end it doesn't matter; roots music will always be there. Naturally, Seattleites will be there as well, ready to stare at their collective shoes and listen.