roots rock
Back-to-basics rock
Roots rock is rock music that draws heavily on traditional American genres—country, blues, folk, and gospel—rather than the synthesizers and studio polish of mainstream rock.
The term emerged in the 1980s to describe artists returning to organic sounds and authentic instrumentation: The Blasters and Los Lobos were central to the LA roots rock scene.
Related to Americana and sometimes overlapping with alt-country.
Jamaican offbeat music style
- rockabillyHillbilly-influenced early rock
- bluesMournful American music genre
- countrySovereign state or territory
- folkRegular common people
Americana · singer-songwriter · acoustic · guitar · bass · drums · harmonica · vocals
Fretted stringed instrument
- banjoFretted drum-stringed instrument
- fiddleAdjust restlessly; folk violin
- mandolinPlucked eight-string lute descendant
- harmonicaHandheld reed wind instrument
upright bass · dobro · accordion · washboard · tambourine · organ · Fender · Gibson
Patterned stress and silence
- backbeatAccent on weak beats
- grooveNarrow cut or routine
- basslineLow-register musical foundation
- syncopationStressed unexpected beats
twang · rawness · earthiness · authenticity · organic · warmth · grit · soulfulness
Mournful American music genre
- folkRegular common people
- countrySovereign state or territory
- bluegrassAcoustic Appalachian folk music
- rockabillyHillbilly-influenced early rock
gospel · R&B · Appalachian · Texas · New Orleans · Delta · Memphis · Nashville
reggae
Jamaican offbeat music style
- rockabillyHillbilly-influenced early rock
- bluesMournful American music genre
- countrySovereign state or territory
folk · Americana · singer-songwriter · acoustic · guitar · bass · drums · harmonica · vocals · album
guitar
Fretted stringed instrument
- banjoFretted drum-stringed instrument
- fiddleAdjust restlessly; folk violin
- mandolinPlucked eight-string lute descendant
harmonica · upright bass · dobro · accordion · washboard · tambourine · organ · Fender · Gibson
rhythm
Patterned stress and silence
syncopation · twang · rawness · earthiness · authenticity · organic · warmth · grit · soulfulness · swing
blues
Mournful American music genre
- folkRegular common people
- countrySovereign state or territory
- bluegrassAcoustic Appalachian folk music
rockabilly · gospel · R&B · Appalachian · Texas · New Orleans · Delta · Memphis · Nashville · Bakersfield
vinyl
Synthetic resin plastic
classic · sixties · seventies · oldies · nostalgia · LP · album cover · mono · stereo · reissue
roots rocksynth-pop
Synthesizer-based pop music
synthwave · electronica · electronic dance music · techno · electropop
roots rockart rock
Experimental, ambitious guitar-based music
futurism · glitch · industrial · vaporwave · progressive rock
rock, roots, rocky, rooted, rocks, rocking, bedrock, uproot, rocked