Jim, the majority of the music I heard in folk clubs was "traditionally based" and still is. However the guests these clubs booked were folk revival singers - Martin Carthy, Nic Jones, Tony Rose, and their ilk. For those of us who sang and played ourselves, our sources were books and these performers' LPs. Very few of us looked to authentic source singers such as Walter Pardon for our material, and only very rarely did they appear as performers at folk clubs. The folk scene I knew was very much centred on modern, and usually accompanied, interpretations of folk, rather than the "real thing", which many of us were not aware still existed.

Alongside the traditional songs, these audiences were also willing to listen to a very wide range of other music, even the occasional pop song, provided that stylistically it sounded like folk as performed in clubs (easier to recognise than define). It was an aesthetic judgement. This didn't seem to stop the clubs from thriving during the boom years, and neither did it crowd out traditionally-sourced material.

Did I like everything I heard? Of course not, but that applied to some traditional songs too. On the whole I think I'd prefer to hear a modern song performed well than a traditional song performed badly. I'd also prefer to hear a good song rather than a poor one, and "traditional" is not always an indication of quality.