early on stallion was right on saying english folk tries to swallow other traditions and american folk is trying to swallow the world. it's caslled cultural appropriation folks. it's a sociological kind of racist imperialiam. it wouldn't be if nthe anglo(and in my experisnce germasnic) folies were preserving other tradition but they seem to inevitably want to lead the "new? folk tradition. bourgeoise look nat the world and see adminstrator and cop as a great job.

scots and nitish gael traditions havn't needed leaders, just as music doesn't need leaders. scots and irish gael traditionsn are intrinsickly led from withing by talent and instrumental brilliance. this highlights the nonsense of the well organized anglo acedemic tradition and folk clubs. they have used the organization so that the talent free and instrumentally challenged can be on top. when i go to these things i am usually the best instrumentalist there--all across north america. i am a piker in the celtic scene, average at best. however in the celtic scene they turn to a piker like me every night and say"lets hear one of nyours" in the amnglo folk scene you have to navigate the bureaucracy to get to sing. i was tols at the singer club , some forty year ago i shouldn't sing in galeic as they did music from their own culture.(thosae guys had no idea of the spread of the gaeltacht, but they knew how to be in charge), for several years i singed up to sing at the vancouver folk song society. i was first or second to sign up for eight consecutive weeks at one point , but never got to perform.

i will say this isn't monoilithic. it the cecil sharpe i visited on vacation and was asked to sing(and i didn't have an instrument with me) and they were very nice. the nexy tripo they had a may day highlighting some of the best instrumentalists i have ever heard. so maybe it's nchanging. however the acedemic folk collectors and the singer club clones don't seem to have changed. basil fawlty's in ever direction