Last night I went to a delightful concert in Minneapolis called "Roots of the West Bank II." (Links: 1, 2, 3.)

It was a reunion of sorts. Many faces were familiar. They were the old standbys of the local folk scene, most of whom had gotten their start here back in the 60s. I wasn't here then, and didn't pay enough attention when I first arrived (I regret that); and anyway, I'm not a musician, so was never really "part of the scene" myself, and I got to know these musicians much later than the 60s.

There were some surprises, to me at least: notably Roy "Catfish" Alstad, a blues man, who did some very creative stuff (can you imagine "You Are My Sunshine" recast as blues?). I was told he was a familiar face "back in the day," but then disappeared, and has recently re-emerged. I assume he had some sort of other career during the intervening years that occupied his time. Evidently he kept up his skills, but didn't perform in public for many years.

This parallels (on a smaller, less commercial scale, perhaps) what happened to Mississippi John Hurt, Elizabeth Cotten, Alberta Hunter, and dozens of others, who were "rediscovered" during the "great folk scare" of the 60s or later.

Are we heading for a second wave of rediscoveries?

Of course now we don't have hordes of record producers and concert promoters going out and searching for the old-timers, but the old-timers might be doing it on their own.

I'm thinking there might be a lot of people who used to perform folk music back in the 60s but later found it too hard to make a living that way, and so gave up public performance in order to pursue a more lucrative career in some other field. But now that their kids are grown and their social security pensions and 401(k)s are kicking in, they'll be turning their attention back to doing what they love instead of what will earn a lot of money.

Are you in this category, or do you know anyone who is?

I can think of 2 other local people who restarted a music performing career after a hiatus of many years. Guitarist Peter Lang (protege of John Fahey) gave up performing to be a video producer, then started performing again in 1999. (Unfortunately, a serious car accident 2008 forced him into retirement again.) Bluesman Dave "Snaker" Ray put his music career on the back burner for several years while he worked as an insurance agent. (He died in 2002.)

If this is indeed a trend, do you welcome it, or not?