As a ticket holder, may I point out that I do a lot of fringe stuff. Mostly participatory.
Would I go to a festival that only had concerts? ie entertainment - you know the sort of thing that can be experienced on TV, DVD, radio & CD.
Definitely not. If there were ceilidhs maybe. But to make it worthwhile there has to be sessions. And sessions are not that easy to organise, they have a life of their own, they are - er - um - don't prompt me - er - um - Folk

And then there are the people to commune with - you know Folk Folk. Talented, a lot of 'em.

AND the sweet shop sells troach - normally only found in the Black Country owr kid. Folk is not just music, don't ya know.