Asking people to pay for a concert of folk music in a home is one way to ensure that the artist will be treated with respect. But.....there is also an important aspect of the music that Conrad brings up, that of the social nature of sharing this music outside of a professional milieu. This is equally important in my opinion. One aspect of house concerts might be for an artist to have a chance to jam with the local talent that might be in his/her audience. Maybe a party can be organized on another night that would be just for fun and not a paid performance.

The interaction of sharing music in an integral part of the folk process. Without it, I don't think there can be folk music. This is probably the subject for a different thread.

Frank