I've mentioned this in another thread, but since I think it's germane to the point that Folkiedave raised, I'll reiterate it here if no-one minds.

The lack of young (ie - under 40) organisers is something that's been raised several times on this forum. You can't throw a stick at festivals these days without hitting virtuoso teenagers (about which I'm certainly not complaining!) and as far as young performers go, I think there's an embarrassment of talent out there. What there isn't are people of a similar age running venues.

Accordingly I decided a couple of months ago to put my money where my mouth is and this week Maudslay Thursday opens its doors for the first time. Our policy is to put on the best artists we can afford and instead of the floor spots system we'll have three resident bands who will take it in turns to fill the support slot and who will also get paid for their efforts. The room seats up to 150 people, the pub does Bombardier, Pedigree and a couple of guest ales and there'll be proper light and sound. A couple of people have sniffed and said things along the lines of 'well, it's not a folk club if you don't have floor spots' but in my defence, all I've tried to do is put on some really good music in pleasant surroundings! I also happen to think that if you're charging £10 a ticket, it's an insult to your audience not to impose some kind of quality control over what you ask them to listen to.

All we need now, however, is that audience, so if you're stuck in Coventry with nothing to do on a Thursday night (a ghastly notion, I admit) then nip down and see if it's your bag. We're also having a raffle, the prize for which will be two free tickets to every concert in 2009.

Hope to see you there

Chris Green (aged 31)
Maudslay Thursday