It has been a week of unexpected folk nostalgia. At the Roundhouse, there was Joe Walsh (of Eagles fame) reviving the English ballad John Barleycorn, in honour of the version recorded 37 years ago by Traffi. The following night over at the South Bank, there was another event to delight music historians, as veteran English folkies Allan Taylor and Ralph McTell joined Tom Paxton for his best-known song, Last Thing on My Mind. He may have first recorded it back in 1964, but it's still a crowd-pleaser. Both songs were reminders of the folk boom of the 1960s, when traditionalists and rockers discovered that their interests overlapped.

Tom Paxton, one of the great survivors from the era, has become something of a legend, and is still touring and writing strong songs. Like his younger contemporary Bob Dylan, he was a stalwart of the New York folk scene, and followed the tradition of Woody Guthrie with his involvement in left-wing causes. He also had an uncanny gift for writing memorable, easy-going songs.

He may be turning 70 this year, but Paxton is still an impressive entertainer. Wearing his trademark cap, he came on like some genial uncle. Many of his best early songs were about not just politics, but drinking, rambling and hobos, or that classic reminiscence about the great bluesman John Hurt. But Paxton has matured, like his audience, and he followed up with songs in praise of fatherhood or his family that teetered awkwardly between the honest and the mawkish.

Then he switched the mood yet again, with one of the most impressive of all the songs written about 9/11 and New York firefighters. He deserves to be an American hero.