I heard an interesting definition of 'folk' somewhere - folk music is exactly that - music of the people. It's the kind of thing that happen's in your next-door neighbour's kitchen, just because that's what you want to do. Apparently, making money out of this true folk music is very rare. Now, this can be subcategorised into other styles - Celtic, blues, bluegrass, country, Scandanavian - even jazz and ragtime. After all, these all drew their roots from music that was acessable to all. These are traditional music styles derived from folk, but they're only the real thing when performed in a traditional setting. Does that include festivals? I think my brain (which is now very cross with RE homework) is getting a bit overloaded. Personally, I can't define what folk is. I hadn't realised how difficult it was!

Ruthie