Over the past decade or more, I have increasingly despised the trend of allowing the instrument to bury the words. We hear it in folk and pop. When the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players perform, the same thing happens. The director is also the conductor and does not seem to understand that people come to hear the words and not to admire the generic music.
It seems the sound guys have the same issue, both live and in recording. I do not know why performers allow themselves to be buried. Often in sings and song circles, where the music is unamplified, the singer would be better served by using a parlor guitar than by playing the biggest one he or she can find. If the music is meant to accompany the singer then we should hear the singer--clearly.