"If you have an audience interested in it." Attributed to Ernest

Ah Hah, there's the rub.

The audience determines the performance.

I've heard performers give "too much information" on the background of a song and who recorded, it in a public setting where Mom and Dad and the kids stop by for a minute to hear what's going on. I can't believe that they're likely to rush out and buy a Buell Kazee CD after the performance. The performers weren't respecting their audience's interests, or the setting.

I ran a folk concert series for 27 years, and the audience became quite knowledgeable about traditional music, because that's all that I booked (with the notable exceptions of Gordon Bok and Bill Staines.) One festival, I booked a performer for workshops who was very knowledgeable. He did a workshop at 1 in the afternoon, and his introductions were so long, that several people in the audience actually dozed off. You'd think that if you were giving long introductions and you saw that your audience was falling asleep (the room was well lit, so the performer couldn't help but notice,) you'd lighten up a little and cut back on the information.
He didn't. And, I never booked him for a full concert.

Caution: Do not listen to these introductions while operating heavy equipment.

Jerry