We run a weekly club and tend to frown on amplification. Once a month, a friend runs an open mic in the same venue, provides a pa and not surprisingly gets a totally different set of people playing.

I suspect some of the reluctance isn’t amps per se but changing the nature of the music being played if you aren’t careful. That said, some of my traditional ballads I play only get dusted off on stage with a pa because of the gentle quiet style I like for them versus the lack of respect for others in most singaround venues these days.