Having skimmed this thread I think the content largely answers its own question.

If folk clubs really are dying it's because too many (not all) of them seem to deliberately choose not to appeal to anyone outside their own clique, especially not to younger people. As a result they have become self-centred, boring and sometimes more concerned with navel-gazing, politics and sociology than the music. If you doubt me just skim back up the thread!

I've been involved in folk as modest performer and enthusiastic gig-goer since the mid-60s and I was lucky, when I was young folk music WAS pop music. I love the music, in all its forms from "finger-in-the-ear" trad to modern folk-rock, and I am interested in the history and background to the songs I sing, but what really matters is the music itself first and foremost.

If I hear a song I like, it doesn't matter where it comes from, I'll work to arrange it in a way I can handle; and if I can't do a song justice, I'll set it aside rather than butcher it.

If we just set out to have fun with our music and to enthuse and entertain a wider audience maybe we can get back into the mainstream and re-invigorate live acoustic music in all its forms. Here's hoping ...