35 years ago I started to go to folk clubs. There were some clubs with absolutely marvellous acts all evening and no poor stuff. Poynton springs to mind locally. But there were loads of clubs with appallingly bad singers and performers. Since I wasn't good enough to sing at Poynton I did the rounds of the singers. Harry Boardmans club had some outrageously bad turns! They weren't all good. Once you went away from the best the standard went through the floor.
I remember as many bad ones as good ones, probably more. The singers only clubs could be apalling. Perhaps you lot remember them with rose tints on! Yes, there were always one or two good ones in a night but the rest were no better than now.
I went to a comedy night in Manchester last month, there were about two hundred people watching some of the worst acts I've ever seen in my life. Most of the audience was under 25. It was open mike night.It was still fun though.
I'd guess that's where the folk audience went. It went to something new, something fun, exciting and different. Somewhere the old people don't hold the reins, somewhere you can be crap and still enjoy yourself. It's not to do with poor performance it's more to do with enjoying yourself and you can't do that with your Grandad and Granny.
Any one under 30 is patronised, I went to a folk festival where Bellowhead were introduced with, " Nice to see the young folk trying hard"...
Peter