Declan says "Someone up there said people have a duty to 'entertain' - I don't agree, a lot of folk music is not 'entertaining' in a passive, you perform and I'll be entertained sort of way, some of it is meant to be educational, helps to remind people of their roots etc. It is not and should not always have to be about having happy clappy people smiling all the time."
One of my favourite quotes is a dedication in a book of poetry by Danny Abse
"I hope this seriously entertains"
"Educational" can be boring or entertaining as can all forms of performance and all forms of art. Entertaining does not have to be happy clappy.It can be intellectually challenging AND entertaining.Yes you do have a duty to entertain if you work professionally in the arts, but what entertains some, bores others, or goes completely over their heads.Every artist has to find the audience that is entertainable by what they do. Those that don't find an audience are not entertaining anybody, except probably themselves.