Harmonium Hero

Hi John. I hope you had a good weekend.

Predictable guest lists:... Many clubs do book a varied list of guests, including some lesser-known performers, but there are certainly some who book only 'safe' acts. Look at a few club websites, and in quite a few cases, you will find that you know every name on the list, and in some, all of these will be in the top range.

"some", "quite a few" yet you are putting this across as a major problem. I've had a browse and can't find any. Have a look through this - Brighton Listings for instance and from another Mudcat thread - Midway Folk Club. Scroll down for their Past Performers. There's at least one name you can't complain about.

That strikes me as more typical. Over to you to produce your evidence.

I'll come back to the difficult paragraph later.

Young Folk:

Here, I agree with you. The new wave are in their twenties and getting into their thirties with some very talented teenagers hard on their heels. A lot of us are fifty and upwards but there is a void around forty. It's probably due to the doldrums on the scene in the eighties and nineties (decades, not ages). I blame Maggie Thatcher (for most things). Not sure what there is to be done about that.

OK. Now for the difficult one.

Floor singers: .... There have, for many years, been those who would say "There should be no such thing as professional folk singers". Who says so, and on what authority?

"Who says so?" I've no idea. In 35+ years on the folk scene and around 12 on a folk club committee, I've never heard anyone say it. "On what authority?" Assuming these people do exist and they are running a folk club then, in that club, their own authority. If they are prepared to put in the work, then they have the absolute right to make whatever policy decisions they wish. Outside their club, no-one is under any obligation to take the slightest notice.

There is also a sneering attitude towards those who pay to listen.

Never in my hearing.

I have already mentioned that some clubs have stopped booking guests because they found that they were getting more people in on singers' nights, but what they don't seem to have noticed is that they were not getting more punters, just a room full of floor singers, who were not prepared to support the club on guest nights.

I'm not sure in what sense floor singers aren't punters but if people get more enjoyment from singing than from sitting in polite rows listening to someone else I don't see how you can force them. Surely it is the job of folk clubs to fulfill the perceived demand.

These 'career floor singers' have thus taken over some clubs.

Who do you see the clubs belonging to in the first place apart from those who run them and those who pay on the door?

I know from my own experience that some of them visit singarounds over a 15 -20 mile radius, and so are not faithful to any particular club.

Are you complaining that some people go to more than one club?

I'm sorry if all that comes over a bit aggressive but you have chosen to try and earn a living in an environment that you seem to consider to be totally hostile. It is not the folk scene that I know. You may well have encountered all the things you describe and your own situation may make you a little sensitive to them but do they really represent the mainstream?

Sorry I missed you at Seaford; band practice night. I've heard good reports. A pity that the Lewes Arms had a Music Hall night with no unbooked floor spots or we could have got you on. Get in touch next time you're down this way.