Thread title: A single member of the audience does not an audience make. That the individual is a working folk musician makes it even more atypical.

For me, it is a shared experience.
So I'm with Eliza on this one.

If you're selling tickets... it ain't folk, it's business.

Share with all or you're just picking a side. It's a three way deal with the venue, artist(s) and audience, all of them... together. It's not that complicated really. Most everybody else present was not sharing the grief, certainly not to the extent.

Some big halls close their doors when the show starts. You can't even walk into the room and take a seat. Singing or dancing in the aisles is right out. Does not matter one bit who is on the stage or how one feels moved by the moment.

Were it a local public house or large open air festival, the feedback would likely be very different in my experience.