It's all down to economics breezy. Travel costs eating in to fees, petrol, food etc. If a big name shares the bill he/she shares the money.It's getting to be worth nobody's while to do a round trip of 300 miles for, let's say £200.00. petrol £30,00. If they have an a agent 15% £30.00 Food and drink £10,00 leaving £130,00 on which they are then taxed by the govt. And don't multiply that by five and say it's a good living. For most club pros you can't even multiply it by two. Cd sales help, but folk club audiences buy the least number on average per audience compared with other venues. I've never understood why a non-folk village hall audience buys more than a folk club audience by three to one!
Anyway, have a nice break and give it another go. The folk club scene is in it's death throes, but don't give up without a fight!