here is a quote from the Guardian about Leon Rosselson an acclaimed songwriter writing in a style that ios categorised as Folk
"Rosselson is most often categorised as a folk singer, but his cutting sense of humour and refusal to simply play to a formula mean he does not always fit in here, either. His songs are far closer to pieces of theatre or self-contained radio plays than simple verse-chorus-verse, boy meets girl or maidservant meets lord of the manor.

"They don't know where to put me because there is not a category like chanson over here," he says. "If you go to a record shop you will find me in the folk section, which is OK as I have to be somewhere. But I think my music goes beyond that." It is clear that Rosselson sits closest to chanson, but, despite some false dawns, the genre has never taken off in England, at least not in our native tongue. Brel tributes can always draw a crowd, but what could be regarded as English chanson remains almost an awkward note in the margins of English music.

"I think the reason for the lack of an English chanson is perhaps because we share a language with America," says Rosselson. "While there was an English music-hall tradition, it is American commercial music that has dominated the musical life of this country. end of quote
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jun/05/folk