Here in the Plymouth area of the Southwest of England, we have two local clubs, the Hyde and Folk on the Moor. Ours is the Hyde, which attracts around 40 listeners and players per week. Sometimes we get an influx of students from language school and the university, and sometimes we get as many as 60 people, but I have noticed that most of these want to perform, and on guest nights the attendance drops to around 30. This despite the fact that we only charge £2.50 or £2.50 as gust nights are subsidised by the club. We still feel it's worth putting on guests however, for the liteners and for the fact that if folk clubs don't book guests then who is going to.... I alsways tell guests is nothing personal when only 30 people show up, but they often think this is a good-sized audience compared with audiences elsewhere. What winds our club members up more than anything is performers with an 'adore me' attitude. Audiences are willing to be won over, but they won't automatically like a performer just because they are good at what they do (that being kind of taken for granted). Therefore the stagecraft angle is essential. Clubs are a valuable training ground. Maybe they should get a grant from the education authority..... What we need to remember is that a lot of guests we'd consider well-known, are unknown to people who don't read the folk press, follow festivals etc.... I've found when we stopped using the word 'local' in publicity, more listeners turned out for say, a regional guest. The image we portray is in our hands. People will come if you promote it in the right way. Deni Mad Rush http://www.beehive.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/hydefolk
|