Your response does highlight the crux of the issue, Spleen. This strategy says a lot about who the Unthanks think their audience is. For a lot of people under 50 who cut their teeth on the mainstream live music scene, seated gigs are weird. They are the kind of thing your parents, or people who enjoy classical music, expect. When I first started going to folk festivals, I found seated concert marquees very strange and somewhat staid, though I came round.

I can only think that the Unthanks reckon that the majority of their audience is both from a slightly younger generation, and perhaps a bit of a crossover audience as well; ie, not pure folkies.

It's a risky strategy; I get why Bellowhead do it - it's the nature of the music. But with a band that's more contemplative and doesn't require jigging about, it's an intriguing decision.