Just wanted to comment that here in Atlantic Canada, and in the Ottawa Valley, and no doubt other parts of Canada where I'm less familiar with the folk/roots/trad music scene, the kitchen party continues to be the main venue for most of us. Musicians, singers, songwriters mostly start there, continue to participate throughout their public careers, should they be lucky enough to have one, and rarely stop performing informally with and for their friends and neighbours.

We do have quite a few music festivals - you can attend a Bluegrass or country festival every weekend, should you wish to, and there are several high profile Folk festivals.

As for younger music makers, we here owe a great deal to the young people of Cape Breton, the Acadian shore, Newfoundland, etc., who continue to take a lively interest in making terrific music based on their respective community traditions.

But as to the public airwaves, except for the CBC TV and Radio (Canadian Broadcasting Corp, or "Mother Corp"), you'd never know all these performers existed, Shania Twain and Celine Dion notwithstanding.

I suspect every English speaking country includes relatively small numbers of people who are even interested in any music that isn't dismissible ear-candy presented by equally dismissible eye-candy, designed primarily by multi-corps trying to sell something. But I may just be middle-aged and out of touch on that subject.

On topic, I don't think it matters what group participates more or less on a site like this. The fact that these smaller demographics are participating at all is delightful to me, and also indicates yet another great effect of the internet.