I thought this legislation only applied to commercial and/or amplified music anyway. What relevance does that have to a folk Session?

I suspect that any existing ones should be able to continue (even without entertainment permission) not because the words of the law make them safe from LA enforcement but because intitially they will be too busy with other more pressing matters.

The problem is presented more to any new folk sessions and I think the answer to this one is possibly for you to try and set-up a new local folk session. Then you can tell us the relevance of the new legislation. I fear that any licensee is only going to agree to your request if they first think it is legal and will not get them into trouble. The test is what they will be advised by the local authority.

If they are advised that it will require a variation on their existing Premises Licence, effectively going though the whole process again and making another payment - I fear the chances of the licensee being prepared to host a folk session will not then be very high.

Perhaps you could ask your LA what they would advise under these circumstances and inform us? The first step is to see what response LAs will make to these 'grey' areas of the new law.

I have made a case to my LA that folk sessions are considered by them as a performance of incidental live music and exempt. I await their rsponse - not with any great optimism.