A few nights ago I found myself on the edge of a discussion based on the seemingly misplaced fear the growth of ‘new folk’ is eroding the old-style of folk music.

Apparently, writing ‘in the tradition’ is dying out (first I’d heard of that) One protagonist stated there are no new bands delivering the folk tradition – his view was that only long-term established bands do that. He also stated that ‘new folk’ bands only play ‘psychedelic hippy folk’. Not wishing to ‘put an oar in’ too early, I listened a lot and said little. The discussion slowly evolved into argument and at that point I headed off for another pint, but it got me thinking – the debate, not the pint.

The point (not the pint) is this - new anything (in all its forms) and tradition are not mutually exclusive. That’s especially true with folk music. Fortunately the ‘fashionista’ view of destroy as you build does not appear (too much) in folk music. The minute you go down that road to discuss any form of music you start to put definitions and boundaries in the way. And dear me they can get in the way. The wealth and value in music draws partly from its eclecticism. Deny that through proscription and you deny a massive chunk of music – old and modern, traditional and new – the right to live.

For a moment let’s focus on tradition. One way to understand the English folk music tradition and how fluid it is and how its elements can coexist is to listen. And that means listen to a wide range of musicians. There are the well known 'giants' from all corners of the folk genre. However, there are also hundreds of new and established ‘grass roots’ musicians and bands keeping their corner of tradition alive in their own way, and well worth a listen. So at the expense of alienating some of those hundreds and for the sake of brevity, I’ll focus on a few.

Take some time to listen to Life and Times. They’ve a reputation for playing traditional English music and their efforts to bring ‘traditional folk music’ into schools are well-known. It’s a pity more artists don’t take the time to communicate with the nation’s youngsters in the same way. Listen to Life and Times and you’ll see there remains much power and strength in English traditional folk music – and why it’s not being eroded. Alternatively, take in the sounds of Cruel Folk. They write original folk music from the roots of English tradition combining fine vocals and instrumental dexterity. They take traditional folk music and give it a cutting edge. Not a hint of psychedelia in there anywhere. Their songs are enthralling narrative tales in music and song. Move to another part of English folk tradition – that created by Brother Crow who are stamping their mark on English folk music. Their songs follow the time-honoured storytelling folk song tradition – and are as fresh and new as you could wish, but 'bang on' as far as the tradition is concerned. The list is massive, and the point is made and if I’ve missed you out and you’re miffed I’m sorry. I’m making a point, not writing a directory of folk artists.

I recognise parts of the folk world deride tradition and glorify the ‘new’ – as I said before: “at the expense of recognising where ‘new’ came from”. Equally, there are ‘trad’ folkies that reject 'new' out of hand but in doing so refuse to take their own tradition forward and thus help it grow. The artists I mentioned and hundreds of others, prove that folk is strong and healthy, and writing in the tradition - perhaps more so than for years.

If you want to know where the English folk music heritage lives, listen to tradition, experiment with new by all means and keep your mind open – it’s that simple. And if an argument erupts and I wander off for a pint, it’s not that I don’t care, it’s just that life’s too short to lose your temper and angry people usually hurt my ears.

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