folk music

noun

: the traditional music of the people in a country or region

Irish folk music

also : a type of popular music that is based on traditional music and that does not use electric instruments

Examples of folk music in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Wilson then continued on her solo career, becoming one of the top jazz singers of the 1990s, and continued to mix jazz with blues, country and folk music throughout her career, her website and Blue Note Records noted. — Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 3 Sep. 2026

During dinner, a musician named Manel Ferreira performed fado, the Portuguese folk music, playing guitar and serenading guests. — Kaitlin Menza, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Sep. 2026

Emmett Doyle is a burly and bearded union carpenter and musician in Minneapolis who writes and performs folk music about the struggles of the working class. — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026

Many people discovering Yiddish today – and its universal reach – find it through klezmer, the traditional folk music of Jews in Eastern Europe. — Ilan Stavans, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026