This article is about roots revivals in general. For the international project, see Roots Revival (project).
Further information: American folk music revival, Folk music, and British folk revival
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A roots revival (folk revival) is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly composed songs with socially and politically aware lyrics, as well as a general modernization of the folk sound.
The term roots revival is vague, and may not always refer to identical events. Characteristics associated with a roots revival include:
Popularization of previously non-mainstream and independent of folk music
Adaptation of folk styles to pop (or rock) structures
Invention of new formats like bands where only solo acts had existed before
Introduction of new instruments
Composition of works by those who perform them, as opposed to folk tunes mostly passed down orally (see singer-songwriter)
Incorporation of politically aware lyrics, often critical of a government, religion, or other authority, or society in general
Lyrics are the first from the nation to express more than simple desires and problems, and are often seen as the embodiment of a national character or literary tradition (in comparison to the legendary American songwriter, such composers are often said to be the "Bob Dylan" of a particular variety, as in Wannes Van de Velde is the Belgian Bob Dylan)
Roots revival performers will often come from very different social and economic backgrounds compared to the people whose style of music they are popularizing.
With such a vague and variable definition, roots revival could be seen as referring to the creation of any kind of pop music industry, though there are countries with well-developed pop traditions that have not had a period referred to as a roots revival (such as Jamaica, India, Cuba, and Kenya). For example, homogenized pop has long had its fans in most every country in the world, but many of these nations have created their own indigenous pop styles out of folk music; this process could be called a roots revival, though in some cases the folk musics in question were still widespread and did not need to be revived.
rootsrevival (folk revival) is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals...
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distinctive Spanish genres became universally recognized. Folk music revivals or rootsrevivals also encompass a range of phenomena around the world where there...
instruments. The 20th century has seen Cairo become associated with a rootsrevival. Musicians from across Egypt are keeping folk traditions alive, such...
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is the biggest one in Sweden. In the 1960s, Swedish youth sparked a rootsrevival in Swedish folk culture. Many joined Spelmanslag (folk musicians' clubs)...
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along with the roots of what would later become funk, hip hop, salsa, electronic music, punk rock and heavy metal. An American rootsrevival occurred simultaneously...
ska, and ska punk music or had roots in punk, ska, ska punk, and alternative rock music. The roots of the swing revival are generally traced back to 1989...
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to fall out of fashion in the 1880s and early 1890s. The Gothic Revival movement's roots are intertwined with philosophical movements associated with Catholicism...
revival music" to make the distinction. The transition was somewhat centered in the United States and is also called the American folk music revival....
countries, such as Spain. In the 1970s, the Netherlands underwent a rootsrevival, led by artists like Gerard van Maasakkers, Jos Koning, Dommelvolk and...
Academy Award. After his move to New Orleans in 1988, he helped spark the rootsrevival of classic New Orleans R&B. His soulful lyrics and explorations in Latin...
traditions, known as Sami music. Finnish folk music has undergone a rootsrevival, and has become a part of popular music. In the field of classical and...
high-life; most of the guitar bands began using the electric guitar until a rootsrevival in the mid-1970s. Dance highlife evolved during World War II, when American...
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early 1980s. The Melodians regrouped again in the 1990s as part of the rootsrevival. In 1992 they recorded "Song of Love", which was issued on the Tappa...
use of the term "revival" to refer to an evangelistic meeting or series of meetings (see revival meeting). Proponents view revivals as the restoration...
a following in America but never managed a major hit. The revival was related to the "roots rock" movement, which continued through the 1980s, led by...
1970s and beyond, music became further enmeshed in Italian politics. A rootsrevival stimulated interest in folk traditions, led by writers, collectors and...
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