I've felt bad sometimes and a little out of place on this forum because I'm not a performer. I can sing well enough if hidden in the audience and simply haven't had the talent or persistence to learn a musical instrument properly. I went to Girl Scout camp for many years and attended church, so that music is familiar, and I first heard Pete Seeger on public TV when that meant catching it for the two hours a day that it broadcast.

I listen to and purchase music I like. For me, that's music I can hum along with, if only subvocally, and some dance music. Since I'm an alto, I have a hard time listening to Joan Baez for any length of time. Most of the music I enjoy can, sometimes a little loosely, be called folk.

I raised two kids and travelled with them a lot. We discovered storytelling. Since I was buying, the kid's music we listened to was decidedly folkish. After insisting that rap and heavy metal were the best music ever, they now both look forward to going to Old Songs Festival with me every year, and drag friends/girlfriends/whoever they can convince to come along as well. They're 28, twin boys.

I 'fessed up to Alan Block many years ago about not being a performer, and he said "without you I wouldn't have a job," which is true enough, I guess.

So I'd like to speak to the audience members here. What leads you to enjoy a particular musician or song? I like to hum along, one of my kids loves clever lyrics, the other is studying blues guitar, so he wants those guitar licks, and we all love a good story.