I've seen Kate in concert on her own and with the band a few times and have thoroughly enjoyed the gigs. Her versions of songs like 'wild goose shanty' are bazzin. I've previously mentioned on a previous thread how the Spinners came in for, what i considered, to be totally unjustifiable criticism in the past from the 'orthodox' folk clique cos of the way they 'made it' professionally. I agree with s&r that the quotation marks in the opening thread are unwarranted. Folk music has been presented in all kinds of ways over the years from the String Band, Spinners, Fairport, Pentangle, Steeleye Span. I thnk Kate is just following this tradition as did Maddy Prior, Sandy Denny, Jaquie McShee, Shirley Collins, Eliza Carthy &c. I certainly don't believe Kate is being 'groomed' and 'packaged' by the record industry (if i'm not mistaken, does'nt she and hubby have their own studio?) i think she and her husband are too intelligent to allow that to happen.