You can"t have the accepted definition of folk music if there are no "Folk". What many contributors seem to want is I9th century people in the late 20th century. I do not believe thast it was rock that killed folk in the sixties, I believe it was this same kind of narrowness of mind that we see in this arguement. Rap may not be your cup of tea but it is far close to the tradition of "Folk" than Annie Defranco is. As For the maidens of Lilith Fair... these are talented womenand women of convivtion. PLEASE, this discussion has been going on for fifty years..lets just enjoy music without "bashing" what we disapprove of or don"t enjoy.