I tend to agree pretty much with what you said, Suib, with one small exception:

". . . overly precious recital of Folk Song in a coffee house. . . ."

Most coffeehouse performances that I've seen and been involved in are not "recitals." They're pretty informal, with a lot of interaction with the audience.

One coffeehouse I sang in a lot during the 1960s generally had three or four singers up front at any given time. No set program and not always the same singers. We played off each other, did impromptu duets, trios, and such. A lot of banter and interplay (unrehearsed!) between the singers and with the audience. An evening at this coffeehouse was sort of like going to a party, and the audiences (generally wall-to-wall on Friday and Saturday nights) loved it!

I save the "recitals" for when I'm singing for some fairly formal organization like the Early Music Guild or the Seattle Classic Guitar Society. But I still keep it pretty relaxed.

Don Firth