Jack Campin makes a good point. Why would anyone interested in selling records and concert tickets bill themselves as "folk"?

As I noted above, Kathy Mattea is the only name on the BFF bill that I recognized, with the exception of my homeboy Henry Butler. What little I know about her makes me think of her as a "country" artist, or maybe "alt.country" (to distinguish her from the worst of Nash-vegas). I would think that either of those labels would serve her career much better than "folk," at least in a nationwide context

Of course, Boston ~ with its ever-changing college-age demographic ~ is probably a large enough scene to have its own definition of "folk" stand up as a desirable label for youth-oriented singer-songwriter types.