Several of the folk festivals that we usually go to are not running next year because the people that organise them are of my generation in their seventies and are suffering from the resultant health issues and not wanting any more the stress involved in organising such large scale events.

There are a lot of really good young acts playing excellent traditional music but where are they going to play if no one takes on the mantle of the aging generation of event organisers?

Do the people running the folk degree courses include a module on how to run a folk festival?

In most cases the organisers have a wealth of experience accumulated over several years.

Are we going to end up with the young musicians having to throw in the towel and get "proper jobs" because there is nowhere to play?