We have plenty of folk clubs here in North America, but with just a few exceptions they follow a very different model than in the United Kingdom. What North American clubs generally do is have entirely separate evenings for featured guest artists. These are actual concerts, and depending upon the size of the audience, they can be in someone's house, a church, a school auditorium, or even a small concert hall. There may be an opening act, possibly a talented club member, but there are usually not any floor singers as in the UK. The clubs then have other evenings for members, and these can be singarounds, pub sings, jam sessions, house parties, or whatnot. This separation addresses the issue raised aboved.
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