I heard Dick Gaughan recall his early days in performing. He asked a very successful musician for advise and was told: "Start with a couple of songs you know."

Good advise for song circles too.

Knowing exactly what songs would work well is as impossible to predict as predicting what the overall composition and mood of your group will be at the beginning of the song circle. If you feel strong that evening, you can try to lead the group where you want to go. If you're tired, you might chose to start with songs that you know, and that you know some other strong singers will support you on. If you're really tired, try requesting another strong singer to start everyone off.

If a group isn't quiet enough, I prefer to start with boisterous songs. Otherwise, almost anything will work. After many meetings, your group will develop some favorites; then that tricky decision comes: do I use one of the favorites right at the start, or wait for the perfect mood later on.

Good luck with the song circle.