The folk music landscape of 2025 has been defined by profound innovation and a deep connection to heritage, as evidenced by a stunning list of the year's top ten albums. This year's standout records traverse from the raw, horse-backed journeys of Scottish Travellers to the intense, instrument-laden soundworlds of a Slovenian trio, proving the genre's boundless vitality and global reach.
A Triumphant Topper: Quinie's Soul-Rattling Journey
Claiming the number one spot is Quinie's 'Forefowk, Mind Me', a project by Josie Vallely that has left a deep impression on listeners since its May release. This powerful collection of Scots Travellers' songs was created as Vallely travelled on horseback through Argyll, a journey documented in an accompanying film. The album's eleven tracks explore ancestry and care with lusty innovation, drawing influence from canntaireachd (vocal pipe mimicry), sean-nós singing, and raw a cappella. Critics have hailed it as 'soul-rattling stuff', a poignant reminder of the past as we navigate an uncertain future.
Global Soundscapes and Haunting Debuts
The list showcases folk's incredible diversity. In second place, the Slovenian trio Širom impressed with 'In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper'. Their fifth album uses two dozen instruments, from West African xylophones to Moroccan guembris, to create intense, mystical soundworlds across seven richly titled tracks.
Further down the ranking, Savina Yannatou, Primavera en Salonico and Lamia Bedioui's 'Watersong' takes listeners on a tour of water-themed folk songs from Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. Meanwhile, the Irish 'super-trio' Poor Creature – featuring members of Landless and Lankum – delivered one of the year's most surprising debuts with 'All Smiles Tonight', blending digital rhythms with fiddles and theremin.
Roots Revival: Traditional Songs with Modern Impact
The list also honours artists revitalising traditional material. Lancashire dialect singer and researcher Jennifer Reid earned sixth place with 'The Ballad of the Gatekeeper'. Her debut mixes powerful a cappella workers' songs like 'Spinning Shoddy' with striking original political commentary.
Norwegian group Malmin, featuring Åshild Vetrhus, took fifth place with 'Med Åshild Vetrhus', offering bright, rugged settings of historic dances and psalms where Hardanger fiddles 'gnash and shiver'. The collaborative album 'Hinterland' by Lisa Knapp and Gerry Diver secured sixth place, showcasing cinematic folk renditions and spry fiddle work.
Completing the top ten are the fascinating ecosophy-inspired hardanger fiddle of Benedicte Maurseth ('Mirra'), the blues-tinged traditionalism of Zoé Basha ('Gamble'), and the beautiful, mood-shifting second album from fiddle and guitar duo Spafford Campbell ('Tomorrow Held').
This year's selection underscores a vibrant trend: folk music in 2025 is not looking back nostalgically, but using its roots as a springboard for urgent, innovative, and globally conscious artistry that resonates deeply with contemporary listeners.
