Graham Bradshaw, of course, is a consummate professional and knows what he's talking about. He's done the sound for Middlewich for years and it's never less than excellent.

I think the old Crewe & Nantwich Festival had it right. There was usually a note in their festival programme to the effect that PA systems were used for the purposes of sound enhancement rather than amplification and they urged people to keep quiet during performances (incidentally, just why do people pay good money to hear a performance and then talk right through it? One of life's mysteries, I suppose).

A good PA operator can work wonders in terms of balancing instruments and voices against each other. A bad PA operator can ruin everything.
That said, if an act can be heard clearly without PA and the acoustics are right, why not?

But I don't think that not using PA is somehow 'better' than using it.
It's a tool of the trade, pure and simple, and should be used where appropriate.