Sorry Leveller, traditional folk music has never, ever, had to chase either those willing to play it or sing it. Neither has it ever had to chase an audience. It is not going to die out so no need for the "life support machine". The songs I have heard and the songs I have sung are in many instances hundreds of years old - so they certainly HAVE survived.

The "youngsters" you refer to. Do you see them in folk clubs? Or on Youtube clips? How about festivals? Concerts? Seen lots of their performances in those venues. They don't appear in folk clubs because folk clubs do not pay them enough. Unlike The Sandman and Big Al, they are not prepared to put in the graft of honing their skills and testing what they have to offer in the grind of travelling round the gamut of folk clubs and their wildly differing audiences. They are the product of university musical degree courses where apart from perfecting their undoubted talents, they are taught marketing and promotion. The "groups/Bands" they form are like mushrooms, constantly changing overnight sensations, once heard instantly forgotten.

Jim Carroll is right all you do need is a voice and the ability, improved over time, to perform the song, which to my mind is the ability to put the words over in a way that portrays and captures the emotion and meaning of the song. With songs I am not interested in anything that does not tell a story, I am not in the least bit interested in gasped or mumbled, indistinct lyrics, interrupted by over extended periods of instrumental masturbation.