The British folk scene: Musical performance and social identity

Abstract

Abstract The Popular Music in Britain series published by Open University Press has provided studies into diverse aspects of musical culture ranging from phenomena such as the music hall, drawing-room ballads, and the brass band movement, to rock music in its various manifestations. This most recent addition to the series from Niall Mackinnon considers the emergence and evolution of the folk club and folk festival movement in Britain from the late 1950s to the present, closely examining its operational features, underlying philosophy and the social and interaetional profile of its audience and performers. Mackinnon's stated aim is to gain a sociological understanding of the folk scene, focussing on “the interpretation of musical performance as social action” (p. 1) analysing not the sound of the music but the behaviour surrounding its performance. Consequently, discussion in the text of actual music, the repertory of authentic folk melodies and those newly-composed in folk style used in the folk clubs, is...