As many of you are aware, I agree totally with what Barry Finn is trying to say.

Anyone remember the joke about the guy who claimed he owned George Washington's axe? "Yep", he said, "this is it. Of course, it's had 5 new handles and 3 new heads." Just how much change and 'evolution' is allowed before the name is no longer relevant?



Over and over and over...again, and again and again....those who want to include almost ANYTHING that isn't hard Rock & Roll under "folk" miss the point! (and I have heard THAT included!)

Ron's line about "...each of these artists carries a piece of the tradition with them." also misses the point. They have that 'piece of the tradition' pretty well disguised, or hidden in their pockets.

"So, Bill...you Purist Snob, you...what IS the damned point?"

The point is: This is not about what is 'good' or 'popular'. It is about keeping some semblance of context alive in your NOMENCLATURE!
I have written about this for years, and have tried in tedious detail to show that when the 'feel' of the music changes, the DESCRIPTION should also change! What are those of us who want to hear mostly the original & older sorts of 'folk' to call it?
If Barry & I did put on a festival, and called it FOLK, and a bunch of people showed up expecting to hear singer-songwriters, they would probably be bored! Suggestions...and some good ones, have been made above about how to promote a festival with the more ...ummmm... 'modern' touch. But 'folk' take up such a smaller space on the posters!

It is one thing to decide that YOU like definition with a wider, more eclectic set of musical genres, but I do get tired of things like " if it's not 200 years old and 'collected' by some old geezer with the arse hanging out of his trousers that stumbled across some fella singing about the merry month of bleeding May... being put forth as OUR definition.

The big problem is that IF 'folk' is going to mean mostly singer-songwriter stuff, and that's what gets looked for when staging a festival, then the older stuff (the base on which is is all built) will gradually get lost. All that Barry & I want is a way to KNOW what we are getting into when we buy a ticket! (And those who DON'T care for the older stuff should also want to know, so they don't waste THEIR money if Barry & I start a festival!)