Michael and nondescript others who say contemporary folk does not exist or if it does, it isnt folk.
Rather insulting to the Vin Garbutts of this world, not to mention the Seegers etc the other side of the pond...
.,,.
Unfair to me. I have frequently made the point that the creations of many who are themselves versed in, and performers of, traditional songs can well fit into the definition; for example, in my entry on 'The Folk Revival' in The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English (1988) , where I adduced as examples Ewan MacColl, Cyril Tawney, Peter Bellamy, Bob Pegg, Peter Coe. Those mentioned above could be added to this list [altho the Seegers, being US, would not of course have fitted into that particular ref book]. It is to the many others to whom the folk label is often unsuitably affixed who are at issue here.

≈M≈