There's a wee article in the current Dirty Linen on young English trad wizard Damien Barber (whose stage show combines concertina tunes, old songs, contemporary songs, and Rapper dancing), wherein he is quoted with this timely tidbit:

"Folk music has always had its own segregated little departments - the singer/songwriters over here, the hardcore traditional singers over there, and the Morris dancers. And it frustrates the hell out of me. We shouldn't be battling against each other; we should be one massive great cultural thing."

In a way, this sort of segregation reminds me of the progressive left in politics, which seems to prefer infighting to unification. Silly buggers, I say.

Cheers,
Michael