Folk was never popular, other than the "scare" in the 50s. Briefly. We complain that more people aren't involved, and when more people ARE, we complain that it's tuning into pop music.

It's never going to be huge, but it always persists. Investigate "Youth Traditional Song Weekend", with some non-youths who go. (I know a bunch of people in those photos!)Thing is, these days, people are spread out all over, but can connect because of the internet.