Good point Bill, I am not a fan of these things at all but this was only the 3rd?

They will soon run out of 'icons' (and their children) to reward, but as these 'icons' and their fine contributions have been largely ingored these many years, I am glad to see them rewarded now.

If it should carry on repeated awarding the same folk every year, which is a possibilty, I will be in far more agreement with you.

It might be a good time to ask people here if these awards are generally thought to be good for folk music. Or are they just a good thing for those (trying) to make a living out of folk music?

Thanks for the link Alice. I listened to the Chieftains session last night, sounded good.