From what I remember of my teenage years, some young people will find it more comfortable to mix socially with their grandparents' generation (who are interestingly old) rather than with their parents' generation (who are just boringly out-of date). In our schooldays many of us actively sought out much older singers precisely because of their links with the past.

My impression is that, having largely missed a generation, traditional music is beginning to blossom again. It's happened before: Bob and Ron Copper made the conscious decision to preserve their family's songs by singing them rather than just by keeping Jim Copper's book on the shelf at a time when their contemporaries were drawn away by the new American stuff. Not that the Coppers didn't sing some of that, too, I think - correct me if I'm wrong.

The new generation will find their own places for making music, just as ours did. They'll pick the most appealing aspects of what we still do. The music will survive because it's enormously strong in itself.

Emily and Hazel Askew were excellent at the Royal Oak in Lewes last night.

Valmai (54, Lewes)