Bounty Hound, singarounds are of course very different from concerts and I am not suggesting putting anyone under pressure. And on reflection I take your point about using singarounds to test-drive new pieces, although in general I think my point about trying to produce your best peformance regardless of the setup still applies.

'Performance' and 'audience' appear to be loaded words for you. To my mind, if you sing to someone else you are performing, and they are audience. When I use them they carry no additional connotations. However I still maintain that you should always try to achieve one's best, and I believe that even those who do it just for fun would still want to do that. I am not dictating what level their best should be.

When I began singing there were three clubs I visited regularly - two had regular guests with the occasional singers' night, the other was floorsingers-only but in a concert format. In all cases it was the norm that songbooks would not usually be used. No one was prevented from using them, but it was clear by example that you were expected to learn your material.   The standard was generally high, but anyone who wished to sing was encouraged to do so, and encouraged to improve (not all did). The incentive was to be invited to do a floorspot on a guest night. Perhaps this was too intimidating for some, but there was nevertheless a steady supply of people wishing to sing. These clubs gave me the opportunity to enjoy both singing myself and listening to others.

A large number of folk clubs now appear to be singarounds where relying on prompts has become the norm. No doubt this is attractive to novice singers lacking in confidence, and perhaps this is a good thing. But with no incentive for them to develop skills and build their confidence, the result is an evening of poor performances interrupted by people shuffling through their books to find their next song. Perhaps for you the social element makes up for this. I'm afraid for me they're a turn-off, and I'm not prepared to put myself through that for the chance to do a couple of songs myself.

Ironically, this is happening at a time when the performance standards and technical skills of those young musicians and singers who do put in the work are extraordinarily high.