[Ads-l] nu folk (1988)

[Ben Zimmer]

OED3 has this for the combining form "nu-" (2003 draft entry, def 2a):
"Forming the names of types of popular (esp. dance) music which revive
earlier styles, typically incorporating more modern elements, as
_nu-disco_, _nu-energy_, _nu house_, _nu-soul_, etc. See also _nu skool_
adj. & n."

Earliest example given is "nu skool" from 1991. Here is "nu folk" from 1988.

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https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-nu-folk/154344335/
Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct 25, 1988, p. 3E, col. 1
Catching nu wave, the latest sound wave out of Calif.
In the last decade, Los Angeles has been host to two huge rock movements
rife with youthful turmoil and social upheaval: punk and heavy metal.
Shock waves from each have reverberated not just in the rock world but
throughout pop culture, as sensibilities and fashions from the movements
spilled out of the clubs and onto the streets.
The name _nu folk_ doesn't exactly conjure the same kind of images. It
hints more at connections with the '60s folk and folk-rock booms -- of
which Los Angeles was also a headquarters.
And yet nu folk -- the name that has been given to a new crop of mostly
(but not exclusively) acoustic, song-oriented performers -- has become a
major force in Los Angeles clubs and may be on its way to joining punk and
metal in LA's rock legacy.
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--bgz

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