Deckman, I don't think Steve was bored and needed entertainment. I think he was mainly posting about what makes folk music special to him, and other folks needed to argue for entertainment. Sometimes folks would rather see negatives than positives. I do it myself. (Makes for a short thread if everyone just says "I agree.")

When I think of folk music, I think of music one sings or plays to entertain one's self. It's participatory.

We have a lot of wonderful professionals who share songs and tunes with us. They're usually very good at what they do, or we wouldn't pay to hear them or their recordings. I'm glad I can listen to them make music. I'm even more glad I can. One big reason I know I can make music is because of folks like Pete Seeger and Sandy & Caroline Paton. This is not inclusive, and other folks have names of other performers who have provoked them to sing. I'll bet Steve's on some people's lists.