Will,

Tonight I am off to a session in the University Arms Sheffield. It is only young (under 30) people. Most are under 25. There'll be a load of fiddles, couple of melodeons, an accordion, guitar, couple of flutes etc etc. There will be no place for a pro - or semi-pro musician or singer. Upstairs there will be a rapper side dancing - some are old and some are young - unnder 20 for example. I don't conclude that the folk music scene is dying from that. In fact I conclude the complete opposite.

Young people don't go to folk clubs. So?

Three weekends ago DERT was jammed full of young people doing sword dancing. Anecdotal evidence suggests it was 50% young people under 25. All having a damn good "folk" time.

There is a huge folk scene out there and it is lively.

You are right the club scene may be dying and I am happy to accept Tom's evidence - but that is not the same as saying the folk scene is dying. It isn't and there is loads of evidence to show it isn't.

All that publicity and radio shows etc didn't last to the eighties did it? But the young people whose parents were into folk music and encouraged them to play an instrument did. Folkworks lasted and so have the people who went there.

Whenever I go to a festival (and I go to loads), there are lots of young people there.

I really do dislike this doom and gloom scenario when all the evidence I see is completely the opposite. (And yes I go to folk clubs too).