It gives me no pleasure to say so, but from my own observations I believe that the vast majority of people who enjoy folk music and who go to folk clubs, festivals, sessions and other events, have no interest in true traditional singing. Their points of reference are exclusively folk revival performers. The folk revival has its own aesthetic values - largely accompanied, and a lot of outside influences from America, Europe and elsewhere. It is a modern interpretation of folk music, it is not re-enactment. I love it (well, most of it), but it is a different animal from traditional singing.

At first hearing many of the old singers and musicians can sound a bit rough-and-ready to modern ears. Like any art form, traditional singing takes time and understanding in order to learn how to appreciate it.