Ballan cites the story of a friend who puts together jam sessions for students at the New School in New York as an example of what's wrong.
"Things have been so disjointed by this generation that [they don't have] the ability to get together with someone and say, 'Hey, why don't we get together, take out our instruments, and play a little bit?' They're not capable of doing this. They have to pay somebody to teach them how to jam."
Shay agrees there is joy in jamming.
"Some of my favorite kinds of folk music are the kind I can enjoy by jamming with, not so much the artist, but people at home sitting around singing a folk song," he said. "Folk music is usually community-based. It is written for the people."
Landis and Lundy are now charged with increasing attendance while maintaining the folk character, not an easy task with the current proliferation of me-centered diary music.
Still, the two see hope. Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy will make a rare solo appearance as the festival headliner.
"Tweedy, as a solo act in this situation - it's going to make [the audience] more focused on the words and not the soundscapes that the band is making," said Lundy.
Festival stalwarts such as Taj Mahal will be back, as will Richard Thompson, Ben Arnold, Chris Smither, and Mike Cross. Cross is expected to close the Saturday night lineup.
Lundy says that Tweedy and Bonnie Prince Billy, another performer with indie cred, represent the A-team for the festival's new direction. Also forging a new path will be A.A. Bondy, Horse Feathers, Erin McKeown, Annie and the Beekeepers, and the Spinning Leaves.
Landis and Lundy are also mining the city for talent, not unlike their folk festival forebears. They note that West Philadelphia is ripe with the kind of music scene that flourished around Rittenhouse Square back in the '60s.
"If you look at West Philly, which is of course its own planet over there, that is the hotbed of socially active activity, filled with socially conscious lefties and minorities that are probably doing more over there than anybody else is," said Lundy. "A lot of the music that comes out of West Philly, like the West Philadelphia Orchestra, is a true melding of folk music and hipster stuff."
"West Philadelphia is the spot to be if you like folk music," agreed Landis.
Yet, Landis remains concerned about whether the folk festival can build a loyal audience from his finicky generation, which becomes suspicious of singers who get too popular and drops them.
"That kind of thing will make it impossible to have another Bob Dylan," he said. "Our generation won't allow anyone to speak for us. We won't allow ideas to become community ideas."
The director hopes to counteract that tendency through music - played in real time and in a real space.
Watch interviews with old and new folk fest workers at
Contact staff writer Tom Stoelker at 215-854-2937.
