RANT
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This thread illustrates perfectly the issue it was ostensibly created to discuss.

Though it begins with a note bemoaning the dearth of "traditional" musicians at unnamed festivals, almost none of the contributors actually talk about traditional musicians. The focus is almost entirely on the singer-songwriter side of the equation. The efforts of most of the contributors are attempts to define or redefine or "traditional" in a way that is vague enough to include the contributor's favorite singer-songwriters.

If the people who care enough to contribute to this thread don't care enough about traditional musicians to actually talk about them (which is free) why would anybody expect the festival promoters to care enough to present them and the target audience to care enough to pay to see them?

It is also a perfect example of a popular approach to dealing with other issues. Rather than deal with the issue, change the definitions.

The people I know who care most about traditional musicians don't bother to attend the festivals that don't feature them, much less worry about the balance of their lineups. They know where the traditional musicians are and vote with their dollars.

Russ (the grumpy guest)