This article examines the variety of meanings attributed to the concept of authenticity, first in interviews about teaching world musics with high school music teachers, and second, in the music education literature. More recent theorising about authenticity in folklore and anthropology introduces several issues that may help music educators to understand the concept differently, including the dichotomous, constructed and popular conceptions of authenticity, and strategies for pursuing the study of it. This interdisciplinary approach to authenticity suggests that, rather than a deterrent to multicultural music education, the concept can become a useful tool in our teaching.