We are lucky down in the far south west away from the metropolis, within 10 miles radius of my home, Helston Cornwall, there are pub sessions virtually every night, some better than others I must admit. Because of the lack of public transport down here they do not attract the same players.
What I have noticed is that they all attract a good audience and the occasional contribution from them, some songs that just don’t get heard outside of the Dutchy.
My local is renowned as a singing pub, most weekend nights someone will strike up with a few songs, mostly trad, I wonder if that is because of the choir tradition down here. It’s not just old folks as well, there are a bunch of youngsters from Porthleven who have been to the sessions and have learnt the songs, great voices, now taking them out to new audiences in their own age group.
It’s not all doom and gloom