"What really gets my goat, however, are the audiences "

Why? What's wrong with people listening to the music they enjoy, whatever their age? I think it's ridiculous to compare the two bands; they simply take a completely different approach to folk music and it is perfectly possible to like both (I do) and, from my experience, I see the same people in the audiences for both.

Just because you, personally, don't like one band or the other doesn't mean that they are any less accomplished. There are plenty of highly accomplished folk musicians whose style I don't enjoy, but that doesn't mean I would imply they aren't good musicians. One man's meat, horses for courses etc.