I regualarly attend the Old Songs Festival & really enjoy it. The same venue (Altamont Fairgrounds) has an Irish Festival that has both traditional and contemporary Irish music and Scottish Games with plenty of music. The crowds at these events always seem to me to be very different, but as larger or larger than Old Songs.

Sometimes I think "folk" is just too amorphous a term to really reach its market. I don't think of myself a folkie. I actually began with International Folk dancing & loved the music I was dancing to. I try to find specific music & musicians that I like & have found that I really like the traditional music of lots (but not all) regions. I have found that the music that is created at Old Songs appeals to me, the music at Falcon Ridge does not.

Don't forget, though, that there are lots of ways people can spend their time & energy. For the many, probably a majority, it's not music at all, so they rather passively take in whatever the media feeds them. Many of my friends & acquaintances are mildly interested in my music, but they are busy with their own priorities and don't have time to share my interests to the extent I might like.

I guess I think the advice to go where they are is good. You can have your music appreciated. You may sell some recordings & gain some fans of your group. Just don't expect to create a lot of fans of generic folk music this way.