If you want to attract new people to what you are doing and you think 'folk music' is important enough to promote and worth passing on, you have to have at least a vague idea of what you mean by the term, otherwise you may as well just call what you do 'sing music' or some such term.

I think that is true, Jim. What I said though is 'nothing further can be said', meaning simply that it has all been discussed before. Whether you believe a conclusion has been agreed is another matter and a different question.

However, as long as people categorise folk music as something either done by well meaning enthusiasts in dingy back rooms or as an invention of 'Victorian gentlemen', then what chance do we have of attracting anyone? Something quite significant has happened to a festival I used to organise until recently. It has changed from a 'folk festival' to an 'acoustic music festival'. I think it is a good categorisation but whether it will attract anyone new remains to be seen. I will let you know next week!

Cheers

DtG