Why the obsession with appealing to the young? When I was young I liked all sorts of music and seeing as I was 16 in 1969 I had an awful lot of stuff to explore. And a lot of awful stuff;-) I settled on a few favourite bands - Hendix experience. Cream. The Who. Jethro Tull. I still like them now. I discovered 'folk' at the same time and would happily have 'My Generation' playing next to the Spinners rendition of 'In my Liverpool home' on the old Dansette major.

My kids, now aged between 22 and 31, liked all sorts of stuff. Two moved from Goth to Trad without me even seeing the transition. The eldest plays guitar very well indeed and the youngest plays both whistle and concertina better than me. Not that that takes much doing!

OK - So we need new blood to keep the tradition going but why do something out of the ordinary? If it is good music people, of all ages, will like it. OK, maybe we need to do something about the attitude of a few traditionalists who would see a 16 year old in their club as the first step to Revolution. In the main young people will find their own level and well meaning old fuddy-duddies will neither stop nor encourage them.

The young have enough to worry about already with exams, hormones and peer pressure. Don't try to sway them with gimicky ideas. Lets just make sure that the music we present is of the best quality and that we do not put ANYONE off with a 'good enough for folk' attitude.

Just my opinion of course (But I know I'm right;-) )

Cheers

Dave