From past threads on this subject it appears that our views as to the state of folk music depends a lot on which continent you live in. I suspect that indigenous music never died in parts of Asia, Africa and South America. In Australia there is a strong resurgence in indigenous culture and there is an increasingly stronger cross over into popular/rock music. In the second most ethically diverse nation in the world (after Israel) the song and dance of many cultures are very popular. And as for 'real' Western folk if I were to use as a yard stick the number of kids learning and playing acoustic/folk instruments and the diversity of people at the larger feativals, I would surmise that folk is fairly healthy here. Regards, John