Ah ... The Cresby has awoken! Mmm I think that some if not many, have got me and the point I was trying to make all wrong. I am not citing that the old days were any better as I have not made any comparisons with 1954 or otherwise. My comments were purely based upon my observation that there is a creeping towards bulk buying of artist's time which in turn leads to 'contrived' collaborations, not the spontaneous crazy stuff which used to happen. I just maintain that you cannot run a festival such as Sidmouth with its amazing reputation by using and re-using the same artists over a number of different formats. There is a danger that the perceived 'celeb' status of some artists seems to enable them to turn everything they touch into gold which in all honesty cannot be the case. We cannot lose sight that the ticket price is high enough without now having to compromise on the quality of what the offer is. I, along many others admire the creative work of artists such as Jon Boden, Jim Moray, Simon Care, Sam Sweeney, Eliza Carthy and many many others but just to offer them bookings for themed 'fun' events does no justice to their creative music which I would rather listen to.

The future does lie with the young and last weekends IVFDF was brilliant for just that reason, so I have no problems with youth focused events but you must also remember the more longer lasting artists who have many, many years of performance under their belts but who appear to be missing this year??

With regards to ceilidh bands, I did not intend to dismiss their music as non-creative. Indeed, it is their often wonderful creativeness which does indeed make them all different ... but some are more dancable than others ... I am sure you would agree?