Well I like all kinds of music but I don't confuse be-bop with trad jazz or chamber music. Sure, trad folk has a future as long as people care about it. Same for any kind of music. The underlying question here is probably will it be popular? Will it be on the charts? Will there be a folk music revival like in the late fifties? My take, probably not. Who needs it? I do need folk music but I don't reflect the tastes of people nowadays who are buying pop recordings so I don't care if it has mass appeal.

Trad folk music is like history. It'll be around and probably interpreted differently by those who are interested in it.

There are no musicians around today who played in the Elizabethan courts of King Henry but there are plenty of Pro-Musica Antiqua (early music) groups extant. Trad jazz bands are all over Europe playing the tunes of the Hot Five and The Red Hot Peppers and in that style. Same for The Hot Club of France.

Someone out there is always going to be interested in traditional American folk music because it is valid as a musical expression with great songs and interesting music. We may not see the likes of many traditional singers who are gone but the respect for the music and the tradition will foster a range of those who care and reinterpret the music with taste, understanding. scholarship (an ugly word) and passion.

Might as well ask the question, will there be people around in 3001. That might be a relevant question.

Frank