I think Barry's list covers the primary sources of what we call "North American folk music" very well. I note that all of his sources were present before the establishment of the United States. I'm wondering if the 19th-century immigrants from the European Continent and other places had much of an influence. The Irish certainly had an effect, but the influence of Germans and Italians and Slavs and Scandinavians and Jews is not so obvious. I suppose the influence of the British Isles was prevalent because English is the dominant language here. Still, I would think the other ethnic groups would have had a more significant influence than I've been able to find. German hymns certainly had a strong effect on American religious and folk music, but what other influences were there?
-Joe Offer-