Pardon me for stating the obvious, but discussions about "the decline of folk clubs" have been going on since the late 1970s - just dig out a few copies of Melody Maker and Folk Review from that era. The only surprising thing about these hand-wringings still going on is that in spite of this very long-term "decline" (for much longer now than the brief period in which folk clubs were truly popular), the quality of music and the interest/ participation of young people in it at the moment is, by general acclaim, the highest that many can remember. So you could say that folk clubs were just an enjoyable but short term historical blip on the evolution of the music: a passing fad, a brief catalyst.

Although it's sad for those who remember the 1960s heyday of folk clubs and would like to be able to re-live them, and for long-time pro and semi-pro performers who have been unable to adapt to changing timess, it's nowhere near as desperate a situation for the music itself as some claim.

One could just as well argue for the return of the earlier BMG societies . . .