With the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, you’re likely to change the music you listen to accordingly. The change in season must perfectly reflect what’s playing through your headphones to fully immerse yourself as you walk, bike or scooter past the golds and reds of the trees on campus. However, it may be difficult perusing through your playlists trying to find the song that perfectly fits your fall vibe after all the warm weather as of late. Well, what better genre to listen to than folk? Look no further for here are some autumnal folk music recommendations to put on your rotation this season!
“Stick Season” by Noah Kahan
“Stick season” is a term used by Vermonters to describe a miserable time of year when it’s gray and cold. There’s no snow yet and the beauty of the foliage is gone. In a Genius interview, Kahan expresses, “It’s a time of year that’s very specific to where I grew up, and … I was concerned that I might alienate people … but it was cool to see it connect with people and if people have their own meanings of what ‘stick season’ might mean to them or what their hometowns mean to them.” This sentimental song speaks of the idea of having someone you love grow farther away from you both physically and emotionally, eventually forgetting about you. As the days become shorter and the nights grow longer, one can’t help but feel more melancholic this season with Kahan’s depressing lyrics and lamenting tones reflecting that. This track is completely acoustic as it begins with fingerpicking before going into layered strumming, which builds on the autumn vibe.
“Lake Missoula” by Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners
Inspired by a lake in Montana, this song uses its notable features as a metaphor for the singer’s feelings. According to Genius, the singer contemplates “the negative aspects of his personality being eroded in the same way that the land of Lake Missoula National Park was eroded.” Although it’s folk, this song does have an indie-leaning style. This acoustic track is made greater by soothing harmonization, emphasizing the reflective lyrics. Although short, this song provokes so much raw emotion within the listener that one can’t help but reminisce on youthful times. This track concludes with the lyric, “Lake Missoula, I’m letting you out,” with the singer ready to burst out of his depressive and prideful state. And isn’t that the meaning of fall in its simplicity — to shed your leaves and begin anew?
“Shrike” by Hozier
Let the dulcet notes of Hozier wash over you like waves with this Irish folk-inspired number from the singer’s second album. Known for his popular tracks “Take Me to Church” from 2014 and “Would That I” from the relatively recent “Oh, how I love being a woman” audio on TikTok, Hozier knows how to make folk music and do it well. The shrike is a songbird, which Hozier compares himself to in the song. In an interview with Apple Music, Hozier recounts, “I was fascinated with the imagery of this bird — the shrike — and the relationship it has with the thornbush, which it lives in and relies upon for everything.”
This song evokes the feelings of love and reliance Hozier describes as being portrayed by the titular bird and its providing thorn. Genius tells the story of this track as being “about a relationship that has been lost, and the frustration and sadness that comes with the regret of not appreciating what was had and when he had it.” The slight reverb throughout the track makes it feel especially dreamy. The percussion highlights the picks of the guitar strings, mixing beautifully with the singer’s melodic falsettos and belts. Hozier’s Irish accent is prominent in this particular song, giving the track a little something extra for your ears to catch on. Although this song is about anger and frustration, it will invoke feelings of calm and thoughts of the autumn breeze caressing your cheek before slithering like a snake through wisps of grass.
