The problem is of course, that 'most folk people' are only leftist in a certain rather bourgeois sense.

Its not because they identify with the lowest strata. Its a sort of desire to improve the lot of the poorest - which is basically a distant cousin of 19th century low church Christianity.

Compare and contrast with Orwell's insight. - Marxism has to come to Asia, becsuse the message is simple, Kill the bosses and more food for us.

Pete Seeger had, as I remember, difficulties with traditional musicians like Bascom Lunsford. And look at the problems of mudcatters in getting insight into the Brexit Leave supporters in working class communities all over England. The abuse soon begins to fly...stupid people, who have been lied to, naive idiots..., Look at the hatred of many country and western music by so many English folkies - although many more miners knew Merle Travis's Dark as a Dungeon than Tommy Armstrong long mournful ballads. I can still remember sitting at the back of the Fleetwood folk club in the 1970's and hearing English folkies sneer at working class Jack Hudson as a 'pseudo Yank'.Was there ever a miners welfare that didn't have a country and western evening?

The problem is not that folk music people are leftist. They are extremely narrow minded leftists, with very little interest in understanding how things are. They reject everything which isn't middle class.