I was not born a folky. I was in my teens in the late 60's and early 70's. I went to rock concerts, discos and consumed all manner of substances I have since substituted with good beer:-) I was nearly 30 before I went to a folk club. The same will happen with todays teens.

With all due respect, Dave, you seem to be assuming everyone is like you in that respect.

I started going to folk clubs as a teenager and was regularly singing in them before I was 20, but I also liked other sorts of music and went to rock concerts, discos, etc., too. I never considered there was anything wrong in that. Many of my friends were the same, as far as liking more than one sort of music goes.

Maybe you just didn't discover folk music until later in life, but having discovered it you obviously liked what you saw/heard. What makes you think you wouldn't have liked it if you'd discovered it earlier?

I see quite a few young people coming along to folk clubs, admittedly when someone young is performing that they like (possibly having found them via Myspace). And maybe this isn't everyone's definition of 'folk' (don't let's get into that again here, please!), but these are the people who will be carrying on when we've gone.

I enjoy seeing a lot of these young artists, many of whom are very good musicians already, and they will presumably get better and better. I may not like every single thing they do, but then there are not many artists in that category, old or young.

The key as others have said is to attract them in and make them welcome. The music will do the rest.