I remember when I was young...yeah, it's gonna be one of those stories.

I was at the Fox Hollow Fest, sitting around with a bunch of kids. We loved that traditional songs, but didn't know many, so we sang and played stuff we did know - Eagles, James Taylor, Led Zep, America, Neil Young, CSN, etc. We never saw ourselves in competition thought, and the old farts in their 30's and 40's left us alone to sing whatever we wanted. Not "I don't need no stinkin' folk festivals," but more like "We're gonna sing whatever we can sing." You don't need a festival to do it - just a bunch of people who want to sing.

So two years ago, I was at Old Songs, wandering around at night looking for music. I came upon a bunch of kids who had started their own session, and was told "you're welcome to come in as long as your nice." (Read "We don't need no bossy adults telling us what we should be singing.") I didn't go - I was more concerned about intimidating them, but I might have felt out of place because I didn't know the music. I really wish I'd gone in now. I probably missed some great songs, and I might have learned something.