we used to have a really nice place near Wash DC, the "Red Fox Inn"..it was a moderate sized reasturant/bar where the owners 'contracted' the entertainment to others...had a big name Bluegrass band some nights,but Monday nights belonged to FOLK. We had an open mic, with guest performers on some nights. It really worked well for a number of years....we saw some fine professional and semi-pro stuff, and the best of the locals...and there were MANY good locals from the FSGW...and they were quite tolerant of average folks like me..But, like many things , it fell victim to the area going upscale and someone offering them a lot of $$$$ for the place.

There were several attempts to move the 'action' to other places, but there was never quite the feeling after that...and the singer/songwriters positively clamored to use up all the available time & space...finding just one night a week in one club for 'trad' became a losing battle. Those who really cared found private homes...but that is not the same....That was almost 20 years ago