Oh dear!

I'm hoping Jan's tongue is firmly in one of their cheeks. Creativity should not be rewarded? Again, confusion between personal taste and absolute merit.

I hate to bespoil your vision of what Folk Music is. But the folk music that 'used to be made/played for one's enjoyment' got created out and is what is now known as 'pop' music. This happened through a process of fusion with other cultures. Now those people who like making music for themselves have the option of jamming to the blues, forming a thrash-metal band or spinning some decks, either in private or in front of a small audience.

Luckily for those that like it some of the original material got preserved and can still be sung and enjoyed in dedicated settings. It is a shame that there are not more settings, but at least it hasn't died entirely. 'Folk fusion' musicians are simply doing what others did before but later and with different influences, some of it works, some of it is dire, again personal taste. But that is not to say the process isn't valid. Anyway, there's nowt we could do about it, innovation is one of the traits that got us all the way from the Savannah to our 4x4s and it will, sure as eggs came before the chicken, evolve music in ways we can't imagine.