Good advice here.

I've done this twice recently with success. In both cases I chose the pub carefully for its layout/ambience and discussed it well in advance with the landlord/manager. I've had poor experiences before with sessions where some musicians/singers were paid and others weren't so suggested in both cases that we could pay for free. In both cases a round or two of drinks for the players were spontaneously suggested by the landlord.

Both sessions have comprised a mixture of people from professional standard down to complete beginners and are of the jamming rather than "taking a turn" type. The first one has finished now due to a change in ownership but the second is still continuing on a weekly basis after a year. As the de facto "leader" I haven't ever had a problem with cliquishness or rudeness but we make sure we play a mixture of material both easy and more demanding. I think only once in recent years have I had to "whisper in an ear" and any problems were easily rectified with no acrimony or residual problems. We don't seem to suffer with prima donnas and maybe that's to do with the session ethos that's built up. The current session has about two or three tune sets to a song and seems to suit most people. I think it's quite a good idea, when starting up, to have a reliable core of three or four people who can keep things going.

At the beginning we had posters but mostly now it goes well by word of mouth. I let regulars know by text message that things are going ahead or, one in a while that I or other regulars wont be there.

The regular drinkers at the current session like the music, which in our case is mainly Scottish and Irish with other odds and ends thrown in, and have complained the one or two times there was no session. The number of punters has increased on an otherwise slow night and the pub management are very happy, even to the extent of putting on a beer festival with music (the musicians got paid for this).

With a bit of goodwill, consultation, good session ethos and etiquette and luck it is possible to get a win-win situation for everybody.

Good luck with your efforts Bugs!

Zen