Martin--

Excellent thread--

A couple of possibilities--

As has been pointed out many times already on the thread, distances are much more substantial in the US---makes it a lot more difficult for folkies to get together.

This is by definition a forum about words. It's possible that a lot of bluegrass and country perfomers ( and possibly fans) either are naturally laconic ( there's a long and honored tradition of that) or just don't want to discuss their music in the kind of depth that often happens here. Added to that, discussions of who wrote a song are less likely on this side of the pond, since it's usually known (even slightly controversial songs like "Darcy Farrow" and "Long Black Veil" have now been dealt with).

Also, there is absolutely no US festival that compares with Sidmouth as to numbers of Mudcatters who attend, with Whitby also likely in this category. Particularly now, it may seem there's an obsession with these two, but they have just finished and they come just about right on top of each other. There's also a lot of concern particularly with Sidmouth, since from being one year perhaps the biggest folk festival in Europe, it's suddenly unclear what the future holds at all--it's essential to keep it going next year as "just the fringe"-- which is actually some of the best music-making in the world--in order that the full festival start up again in 2006.

I have a lot more to say on this great topic, but have to get ready to go to Eastern
Pennsylvania to a Folk Song Weekend--to do stuff like sing and play parodies, continue my struggle, with like-minded others, against the RUS "hymn sing approach", and sing sea songs while swimming in the pond--now that's good exercise. Besides, I'm getting flak here at home--she says I'm doing too much "Mudcatting around" (as Flatt and Scruggs
might say).

Bye for now.