The music of Sri Lanka has its roots in five primary influences: ancient folk rituals, Hindu religious traditions, Buddhist religious traditions, the legacy of European colonisation, and the commercial and historical influence of nearby Indian culture—specifically, Kollywood cinema and Bollywood cinema.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in Sri Lanka, landing in the mid-15th century. They brought with them traditional cantiga ballads, ukuleles and guitars, as well as conscripted Africans (referred to, historically, as kaffrinhas), who spread their own style of music known as baila. The influence of both European and African traditions served to further diversify the musical roots of contemporary Sri Lankan music.

Caste-based folk poems, Jana Kavi, originated as communal song shared within individual groups as they engaged in daily work. Today, they remain a popular form of cultural expression. Folk poems were sung by ancient people of Sri Lanka to minimise their loneliness, sadness, tiredness etc. There isn't a known author for the folk poems. Kavi was also sung to accompany annual rituals. These ancient rites are rarely performed in contemporary Sri Lanka, but the preserved songs are still performed by folk musicians. Sri Lanka is known to have songs that date back to 1400 A.D. That are still performed today.

Another traditional Sri Lankan folk style is called the Virindu. It involves an improvised poem sung to the beaten melody of a rabana. Traditional song contests were held in which two virindu singers would compete through spontaneous verse. The Portuguese influenced baila has been a popular folk tradition along the coastal districts in the past five hundred years and is now part of the mainstream music culture.

The art, music and dances of Sri Lanka were derived from ritualistic responses to natural phenomenon. Sri Lanka's earliest folk music was later influenced by the influx of Buddhist traditions. These songs were performed by commoners, and not merely recited by the priestly castes.

Sri Lanka has a highly evolved pageantry tradition, which has a unique array of music.

Kolam music is a low country folk tradition of the south-west coast and its use was both in exorcism rituals as a form of healing and in masked comedy and drama.

Nurthi is a stage drama that influenced by Parsi theater as a consequence of arriving the drama troupe in the latter part of the 19th century, which belonged to the Elphinstone Dramatic Company of India. Nurthi is the colloquial Sinhala form of the Sanskrit term "Nritya". The music of Nurthi was based on North Indian Music. Don Bastian of Dehiwala introduced Nurti firstly by looking at Indian dramas and then John De Silva developed it and performed Ramayanaya in 1886.