Ruth Archer,you are contradicting yourself.
you agree to book a HEADLINER because of their hype and their ability to put bums on seats,and then say this enables you to book another 10 up and coming performers,but unless these 10 up and coming performers,play commercial folk music,and have the right image,and are promoted correctly,they wont succeed.
Whatever happened to judging people on merit,what you are doing is promoting pop folk music,[that may be ok if it takes people further to listen to source singers or revivalists like Carthy,Rose Jones Lloyd]
but dont kid anyone,that you are giving them a break,because the folk world has now become like the pop world, people are not judged on merit but on how well they are promoted,witness the drivel; about Kate Rusbys using double drop d guitar tuning,people were using this and other tunings before she was born.but idiots on this forum call it Kate Rusbys tuning,as if she invented it.