Reminder that this discussion is not about definition of folk so steer yourselves back to singer songwriter.

Any category is only as good as how it relates to the questions being asked of it. If the category does not work for you simply re define it and go from there.

Folk works for singer songwriter but I would argue only for the
Traditional Singer Songwriter style
rather than the
Contemporary or "easy listening" Singer Songwriter Style

When a new song is written and performed in the traditional style it may not be old, may not have stood the test of time but.....it sounds alike so for the purposes of listening it goes with other songs written and sung in the tradition.

For the history of folk it goes in another category as it is not as old however will be old soon enough

For the purposes of putting together a play list I would think that a folk program would not be suitable for
Contemporary or "easy listening" Singer Songwriter Style if it claims to be a Folk program. It would not also be suitable to include massive amounts of Country or Rock.....

Even if you are putting together a stew- If you call it a folk stew some of the class of singer songwriter would not be appropriate flavors for the mix.

If you wish to have an "ecclectic" music program then don't call it Folk. There is so little space for folk that it must be guarded and entrance needs to have some form of filter.

Just try getting a Jazz or Blues show to play several traditional folk tracks even though an argument could be made that Jazz or Blues is possibly in some degree folk.

Why is it that "folk" programming seems to let everything in?

I think the question is simple- money and marketing if you depend on an audience then you sacrifice values- an international trend.

Far far too much extreme fusion and contemporary easy listening singer songwriter getting in. In a review of a local band I just composed I noted that "The Homespun Ceili Band has demonstrated that it is quite possible to provide energy and excitement and drive by playing the music of the celtic realms without any fusion at all- the only fusion you would get is that required for back injuries and they would not let that happen to you!"

Slightly off topic- doesn't recent Bellowhead material more closly resemble Herb Albert and the Tjuahana Brass than folk?>

Conrad