I once heard that opera singers reach their peak in their early forties. Folk and traditional music, for the most part, is less physically strenuous to sing than opera. I think we can get better for longer. I'm 33 now. I think by the time I hit 60 I'll be a damn good folk singer. Maybe as good as Carl Sandburg, eh?

At the most traditional-oriented song circle I attend, I've seen the widest range of ages. The bulk of the people are about my age to fifteen years older than me, but there are also two regulars in their 70s, a couple of semi-regulars just off to university, and one four-part harmony family whose youngest seems around ten years old.