"Guest seems to think that one needs a peer circle to make music, phew - what a bibful a bull."

No, guest doesn't think any such thing.

But guest does realize that most young people (age is the subject at hand, in case you hadn't noticed) want social interaction with their peers more than they want to pledge allegiance to a particular way of performing music, especially when that particular way of music is intolerantly dictated to them by anal older adults with no tolerance for youthful innovation.

Music draws young people together because it is fun and full of joy and a sense of camraderie. It usually does not make them want to make an exclusive sort of music with older adults, until they are older, usually in their mid to late twenties. The reason for this is largely because their first interest isn't the music, but each other. Frankly, I'm with the young people on this one.   They are absolutely right to value their social relationships more than a night listening to a gifted musician, no matter how good, or how rare the musician and their music might be.

It is wonderful when young people freely choose to seek out the latter sort of musical experience. But I think the "old folkie" mindset is just a rigid way of thinking about and viewing the world, which has little to do with music anyway.