It's about the Young Folk Awards.

It ain't about John Kelly or Jack Hudson or the BBC and its policy on folk music.

Jack has been around a long time, plays mainly American music as far as I can tell - years since I have seen him. Not much on the web to judge him on recently as far as I can see.

John is an excellent singer - and I saw him recently - but to describe him as "probably the finest most original singer of traditional song in England" does put him on a very high pedestal and I am not sure that's exactly where he deserves to be. BUT you may be right.

You and I may differ on our opinions on the finest this that or other but that's an opinion on Mudcat.

In the end what will help artists more than anything else is whether promoters like musicians and singers and whether people who buy tickets for folk events will come and see them. Word soon gets about who sells tickets amongst people who buy tickets, and amongst promoters.

And no amount of mudcat opinions or folk awards will alter that.