I’ve been told over and over again the state of the clubs during these arguments – the poor standards, the failure to live up to the claim of being folk

No Jim. You have been told that by some and the exact reverse by many others. You choose to believe the ones that pander to your underlying bias, which we all do. But to argue that you believe clubs are poor quality and do not present folk music on a thread that says the opposite, started by a folk singer that actually performs at clubs is a bit like going into a synagogue eating a bacon butty.