Why do folk singers stick finger in ear

[Zebedee]

I am watching the Shrewsbury Folk Festival

http://www.shrewsburyfolkfestival.co.uk ... ndex.shtml

And sure enough, the singers have stuck their fingers in their ears.

Haven't they heard of monitors ?

[Dave Boothroyd]

If you ask that question on a Folk forum they will howl with indignation because they claim that they actually cup their hand behind their ears, and that "finger in the ear" is a gross misrepresentation and calumny.
And, yes, they have heard of monitors, but believe that if all the doddery old buffers, that the Victorian song collectors took a very carefully censored selection of songs from, sang without monitors in 1892, then they can only preserve the "authentically pure folk tradition" by doing the same.
That's also why they sing in an imitation of the cracked voice of the aforementioned doddery old buffers, and using an accent that comes from that county, known only to Folkies which borders on Devon, Norfolk and the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Cheers
Dave
(not a fan of trad folk, but would have gone to see John Otway if I'd known he was on)

[slimbo]

Stop their brains falling out.Lol.

[Uncle Roy]

Where else could they sick them?