GfS, you are a nincompoop.

Regarding my comments on folk festivals, I want it clearly understood that I am not just making wild guesses (like you do chronically), I am speaking from personal experience. If I didn't offer some substantiation of what I said, you'd jump my case for that!

So unless you have something intelligent to say, just bugger off!

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Now, Conrad,

If you don't like the way folk festivals are run in your locality, do what others do. In my locality (no, GfS, this is not about me, but I did participate in the process), a couple of different "folk music" organizations refused to sponsor performances by very creditable singers of traditional songs, in one case, refusing a singer and folklorist with admirable credits because he didn't write his own songs.

Rather incensed by this, a number of people (including me—sorry, blowing my own horn again!) organized—or rather, resurrected—a folklore society that had existed in the 1950s for the purpose of collecting local traditional material, and sponsoring performances by singers of traditional material.

This resurrected organization was put together by three people:   Stewart Hendrickson (posts here occasionally as "Stewart"), Bob Nelson ("Deckman"), and (modest blush) myself.

The Pacific Northwest Folklore Society

The result is that there are now two folklore societies in this area, presenting a much broader spectrum of folk music (both "contemporary" and traditional) than existed a few years ago. And the PNW Folklore Society is making a great deal of local folk music and folklore than ever before readily available to anyone who is interested it. Browse through the web site.

At the same time, Bob Nelson is heading up the collection of a massive amount of material and is organizing, digitizing, and archiving it in preparation to make it available to, again, anyone who is interested.

I, in turn, am writing up a history of the folk music "scene" in this area from the early 1940s until now.

Conrad (or anybody), if you don't like the way things are going in your locality, get together with a few like-minded friends and organize your own.

C'mon! Quit complaining and get cracking!

Don Firth

P. S. By the way, GfS, what are you doing that will be of lasting value to anyone?