Auldtime, I agree; I think one of the major appeals of tradition-based music is the type of people who perform it. They are in general human and accessible, and, dare we say it, folk.
I have met many musicians, have been privileged to become friends with a number of them.
If my daughter goes to see a major pop or rock act, the socialization is with her friends, and they paid big bucks for tickets online to join thousands of others. That is an entirely different situation from if she comes down to the pub with me and the singer says, "Hi, how are you? How's the team? What would you like to hear tonight?"