"See we all , myself included need to give encouragement to any young performer who is writing folk and performing. It is the only way I think to keep the music alive. It is up to us to open ourselves up to new music created by the young people and not just focus on the names we know and love. We can do both, love the names we have known for so many years and yet take the time to hear a young performer do their original work. There are many great young writers and performers but I don't think they get the chance i clubs or otherwise ."

Well said!   

The complaints I hear, from either side of the pond, are about young people not wanting to participate in folk clubs - yet I see an equal problem with older generations not wishing to listen to the original music being made by younger musicians. Even for traditional music, younger performers tend to get overlooked.

No one can expect a younger generation to participate in the same fashion that we participated when we were that younger generation. We carved our own path back then, and the younger artists of today are doing the same. Either path can be a pleasant journey if you have the right mindset.