Hi Becky - I was agreeing with you too, and I used your quote because I felt it tied into what M.Ted was saying. I am extremely happy with the current state of affairs.

It does seem strange that there seems to be a "want" for a more "commercial" acceptance for folk music and a need for "stars".   I guess we all grew up with figures like Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger or Bob Dylan as sort of figureheads of the music we love.   The fact that so many people are making music and playing music is a testament to their work.

Pete would tell you straight out that his "mission" is to encourage people to sing.   If people would rather listen to Pete Seeger recordings rather than make music, then his work has been a failure. Personally, I think he has been very successful.

Just one more story. A few years ago I was at a music conference and John Flynn was sharing some songs. If you have not heard John Flynn, you need to drop whatever you are doing and find his music.   John was singing one of his songs called "Big Boat Coming". No one had heard it before, but suddenly the entire room was singing along with the chorus. THAT moment was every bit as powerful to the people in the room as singing some of the old chestnuts were to older generations.    There IS a modern canon of music still being created, and I can see it coming from younger generations who are more open to new (and old) ideas.