There's actually a burgeoning set of bands pulling heavily from traditional and modern song lists - y'all know the litany... Great Big Sea... Young Dubliners... Gaelic Storm... Fenians... etc...

If THAT is what the next wave is, I'm glad. It's not true folk as most of the masses would name it (though the Fenians do a wrenching version of "The Auld Triangle" and a few others), but it's definitely got a lot of connection to it. Some groups are closer to the "traditional" sound than others, but they all sound like they're coming from the same angle.

Anyway, I'm of the mind that it's something that never really goes away. Someone hears something they like, they adapt it to more closely suit their (and their audience's) tastes, and the "tradition" continues. Good enough for me.

M