What I think needs to be done is small concerts in available halls or theaters with a good sound operator. Look at these events as an educative rather than totally entertainment following the monetized model. There should be a vital M.C. who can place the songs into a historical perspective. It should be someone with knowledge of Jim Carroll or others who are grounded in traditional English folk music. This is why Ewan was needed. The problem with folk clubs is the alcohol which minimizes the appreciation of the music.
Maybe Cecil Sharp House could take up the project I've suggested.

Folk music needs to be taught to those unfamiliar with it. It's not basically an entertainment form of music and a small intimate house concert or small hall or theater would suffice to present traditional singers. It should run like hell from rock concerts or any commercialized approach. The audience will be small at first until they are exposed to the values that it offers. The performers should be presented not just as performance masters but in context as an example of the traditional singing and instrumental styles.
Both Ewan and Lomax did something like this in their incipient days. It persisted.

Large folk festivals and a traditional approach to folk music are antithetical. You need the intimacy and being close to the trad singer or player.

Also, in conjunction, there should be students who learn to play and sing these songs. Unless the public owns the music, it will not survive.

Think small. And allow it to grow. Someone ought to be able to capitalize these types of performances.

Lomax introduced Leadbelly to the concert stage. Pete Seeger spent a year touring with Sonny Terry to expose his talents to an audience.

At the Old Town School in Chicago, we featured Horton Barker, a tradition octogenarian who made a huge impression with his unaccompanied ballads and stories. Dick Chase added an educational dimension with his story-telling ability. They both were vital traditional American performers. They were presented in an interesting fashion with context and explanation.

I am a fan of the ballad tradition and I see it as needing context to present it properly.
If people can understand the music and the need for the tradition to persevere than it will. I think the same for Black music as well with traditional blues artists or folk artists such as Vera Hall (google her) or Leadbelly or Iron Head Baker. I believe there is an English black artist that reflects a different kind of music from that of African-American.

You've got to redefine what entertainment is. Glitz, glamor, loud noise, superficial meaningless songs, hype and ego, money and general musical decay have to be fought.

A true national spirit comes not from alienating foreigners or uneducated audiences but embracing the native culture and explaining the need for it to those who don't get it.