Being 'one of the younger ones' (even if I am 22) I feel I have something to contribute. I agree that the image of folk is quite negative amongst people of my age. I think it is due to the few popuar folk acts and their terrible recordings. After recently hearing an album by the houghton weavers I was disgusted by their terrible arrangements and overproduction of songs that I like and in some cases play my self. If people encounter folk through recorded/broadcast mediums no wonder they run a mile.
In my oppinion folk needs to be experianced in a communal, comfortable, live setting and in that instance can be hard to resist. However, I understand people want recordings but it should be kept to simple/live arrangements when will people realise that MIDI is horrible. MIDI strings, flute and bagpipe makes me cringe, sometimes when I hear the folk stuff my mum listens to I think that production wise most people need to forget the 80's happened and use REAL INSTRUMENTATION.

Live every time I play I have recieved a warm welcome at all the folk clubs and sessions I have attended. I think people nedd to realise that it is very daunting to perform/play with people that have been playing more years than I have been alive.

As for audiences I think people are up for a hard slog: as Utah Phillips says:- "Folk is not cool" and that matters so much amongs todays young people. In fact the fact it is not cool is one of the things that attracted me to folk as I saw through the veil of image and lies being presented as contempory culture/entertainment.

Recently some freinds got onto this subject after someone saying that there was no indigenous music IN LANCASHIRE! The conversation turned into how folk is dying as generations move on ands that the only people who might carry it on are me and my pal Dave.

Sorry to go on but I feel quite stongly on this matter as I want people of my generation to experiance what I do regularly, the sence of community, freindship across all ages and the good times I experiance regularly.