At the risk of continuing the never-ending "what is folk?" discussion, let me say that I don't consider folk to be only old songs. Cheryl Wheeler is surely a folk singer by anyone's definition, no?

My point about folk songs in a jam vs bluegrass songs is precisely that people can usually join in on a bluegrass song that they've never heard before. Most of the songs are quite simple and do not require knowing the material. I've heard hundreds of songs at jams and festivals, and always leave them having heard many, many more that are new to me. And usually no familiarity with the song is required to join in. In fact, I look forward to hearing new songs at every jam.

As for introducing my taste on other people's sessions: we carry so many instruments in our camper and usually camp in a compound with 2 or 3 other families, so we almost always jam at our own site or our own house. People join us all the time. My point was that for the "folk" songs mentioned, the jam became more of a performance during that song, rather than a participatory event for everyone, because the songs were too difficult for people who were not familiar with the material to join in easily.

I'm not sure what "slagging off" means (I can guess) but I don't think I'm criticizing anyone's taste. My initial post states that I love both bluegrass and folk, and although I'm in a working band, I can assure you I do it for fun.