At Swindon club the evening is split into 4 segments. A singaround; guest; more singaround and guest continues.

On some occasions the singaround can be the highlight of the evening, on others there may be some dire singing but that is never a case for a put down or not being asked to sing (or play) again but usually for the person to realise and to practice ready for the next attempt. Many off key reditions in their early days have blossomed into good performers. In some cases it took years....

It can be a uplifting to watch someone go from nervous wreck to confident and accomplished.

Agreed with the last part. I just think that approach is risky for the organisers, because people paying to see the guests might not be as patient as you regarding waiting for some of the 'dire' folk to become accomplished. You could have people walking out and not coming back.

A safer approach, I feel, is to have singarounds/sessions as separate evenings from guest nights. The people who 'graduate' from the singarounds/sessions can then support the guests on guest nights - or eventually even be booked as guests themselves. That way, the punters on guest nights will be happy, and you still have the same opportunity for beginners to have a go on singaround/session nights. This is the model for some clubs I know.

Is there any disadvantage I haven't thought of? Is it perhaps more difficult to attract people to the singarounds/sessions if there's no guest? Maybe some club organisers could comment?