This is an interesting thread, Martin, and actually one like this that was my first post to the mudcat. Let me make some generalizations that I am sure will be argued, but I think you need to remember that just because things are different in your small town or area, they may not be that way elsewhere in the USA.

America doesn't have pubs. Now before you all go off on this, remember that the pubs in UK are pretty much extensions of the living room and serve as a daily forum for the people of the community. There are areas that do not fit this discription but there are the exception and not the rule, Incidently, where these type areas are, there is often a more active folk community.

There may be truth in that Americans wish to be entertained, and not just entertained, they don't even want to listen quietly. We have sort of a culture nowadays that makes music, even live, sort of muzac. We have played at least 2 jobs where the audience actually liked what we did a lot, but they were talking with friends, laughing, etc with almost no perceptable interest in what we were doing. THose performances are absolutley devastating to folk musicians, as it seems a personal rejection of our music, when in reality, it is more af a mind set of the younger generation where this is socially acceptable.

My group performs mostly 60s Kingston Trio, Limeliters, Peterr, Paul and Mary music with a smattering of Irish music where I play whistle in addition to our 4 part harmony. Most of the time, when I play the whistle lots of people want to know what it is. They have never been exposed to this type of music at all. We do have an audience of loyal followers, mostly 45-80 year olds who remember all the old stuff and enjoy singing along, but there is little recognition from younger folks, although they seem to like it.

There is a much larger community of Bluegrass folks, as well as blues and jazz, but they do not tend to overlap as much as our griends in UK seem to . just some ramblings for thought