When I discovered this music, about 60 years ago now, the word 'folk' seemed to cover it all pretty well? I was happy with it anyway, although I now find the purists were at it even then (1954 definitions & such), and nowadays I shudder to hear the word.

'Folk' music has a serious perception problem- even the aficionados on here cannot define it, but there seems to be an urgent need to do this? No wonder the public have no idea what it is & still link it closely to Bob Dylan.... and don't ask me to define it!

   Rightly or wrongly, and despite their lack of comprehension, most people groan at the mention of the word. It's crucially a live music, and a delight to be involved in, so why is this?

   To take one small aspect of 'folk', here's often an exclusivity about it all, the closed circle of musicians (and singers) can be seen as unwelcoming, and there's often an element of the classical approach which does not accept the improvisation which is essential to jazz, for example - 'lets play number 37 next,' rustle of manuscripts.....

   Academic discussion is quite valid, but maybe there is also an element of one-upmanship in gatherings which is alien to the spirit of the music, sometimes involving tunes & songs from old collections which were rejected 200 years ago for good reasons, and should have been left to gather dust in a library.

I must admit I NEVER now listen to 'folk' programmes and there are no sessions where I live, so yes I'm out of touch, but I DO care about the music.
      I would be very pleased if some form of it regained its place as the people's music in 2023, but let's face it, most people yawn at the mere mention of 'folk' and simply perceive it as boring and irrelevant.
Sad, but true

ps or it could be that the 'people' are just not very intelligent- maybe a good argument, they did vote for Brexit....