I've had the pleasure of seeing John Hartford many times, and that inspired me to take a long weekend trip on the Julia Belle Swain. I wasn't too fortunate on that trip...got to hear a lot of college students, do perfunctory "folk songs", and other riverboat skits.

But John did a show in a small church hall in northeastern michigan, in front of a crowd of less than 200. It was one of the nights I will never forget. The people in the audience were for the most part not diehard folk music fans, but as the night went on a palpable connection between the musicians and the audience developed. By the time the show was over, the chairs were pushed against the walls, and Hartford, fiddle in hand was playing and do si do'ing up a storm. (I square danced with some people that I thought would never let their hair down that far.)

It's a shame that too much music happens in big venues, for big money...but that is one of the differences that makes folk music that much more enjoyable to me.