Big Al Whittle, Oh dear, I can't be doing with this anything goes idea!
If I want blues I'll listen to Paul Jones - or go to a blues club.
If I want country music I'll listen To Whisperin' Bob - or go to a country music event.
But, if I want British/Celtic folk music - and it's American off-shoots - I'll go a folk music club.
I like the blues as much as lots of folkies - and have performed my fair share of them, and I happy for them to have a place in British folk clubs ( but by now they should have developed a decidedly British feel to them) along with odd pop song etc.
However, I wouldn't be happy to see a blues category - or anything like it - in the BBC Folk Awards.
And, I certainly don't like American accents being used by British/Irish performers.