We are back to the old lines of 'Folk' versus 'Traditional Folk' here. It could be argued that Traditional Folk is a kind of equivalent to Historical Re-enactment. I don't imply any pejorative inference here. If someone wishes to dress up in 16th Century dress, lug around muskets and pikes and re-enact the English Civil war, then good luck to them. I might even go and watch and enjoy it. Similarly if someone wants to sing songs that were relevant in past centuries then good luck to them too. I may well go and watch and enjoy that too.

Non of that can negate the fact that music can develop away from commercial endeavours and represent what people want on a grass roots, independent sort of level as well. Some of which I may like and some of which I wouldn't touch with a barge pole, if one I had.