Gateways To Folk Punk by Clunes

Three different folk punk communities were asked the following question, “Which artist among those listed would you consider to be a gateway or introduction to folk punk?” We had a total of 540 responses across two discord servers and the folk punk subreddit. First, honorable mentions have to go out to Pat the Bunny, Mischief Brew and Dayz N Daze that did not receive as many votes on the subreddit as they had to be written in. Discord users decided that Pat the Bunny and Mischief Brew deserved a number three and four spot respectively, and Pat the Bunny was well and away the most self reported intro artist in the comments of the subreddit.

As the fifth-most introductory group to the genre, Defiance Ohio received 40 votes total, a group that received almost no votes on the discord servers, but was included as one of the first six options on the Reddit poll. Coming in with the fourth most votes for opening the door to folk punk was The Front Bottoms. This was an interesting choice for some users it seems, as many comments suggested that they should not be considered folk punk, but there was also general agreement that the group at least leads one to discover other folk punk artists and therefore fit the bill with 68 votes.

Against Me! narrowly beat out The Front Bottoms for the number three spot with 70 votes for acting as a gateway to folk punk. The Mountain Goats received a total of 89 points and came in second place for being the most considered gateway to the genre. As with The Front Bottoms, many commenters were quick to point out that much of The Mountain Goats’ discography should not be considered a part of the genre, but that one can’t deny the impact that the group has likely had on our scene. And lastly, taking 40% of the total vote with 235 responses, the number one introductory artist for the genre across the board was decided to be AJJ.

~Clunes