i played folklife for many years and always gave it priority over paying gigs cuz i loved it so much. i haven't even bothered to attend the last few years (since the debacle about using performers CD money to pay debts and not paying performers for several months afterward). pretty much all the things i enjoyed don't happen any more. jamming, busking, informal band performances, the mixture of great pros with amatuers, etc. have all been messed with to the point of "why bother" to me.
the beginning of the end, i think, was when the staff began "programming" the festival. it used to be if you applied, you played. no quality control. pure community. i loved that. even tho i'm a pro musician i really enjoyed everyone that got up to play and felt that the community aspect over the "quality" aspect was dang cool. that's why i didn't mind playing for free even tho it's my profession. but then certain staff members decided more vetting was needed and outside acts should be brought in. why? to bolster the programmer's resume about putting together the festival i'm guessing.
now the mantra is "it's so big we need more money, more stages, more performers, more fees, more donations, blahblahblah. i don't see why the festival couldn't go right back to "you apply, you play", first-come first-scheduled, if you play this year you can't play next year (so the rising numbers of performers can be accomodated) no shows for pay PERIOD no matter who pays for them, shorten the hours for stages and encourage more impromtu playing and workshops, so the whole thing runs on LESS money etc.
please tell me what i'm missing or what is wrong with my ideas here.