We were at the Middlewich fringe too. Yes, there were a lot of amplified events in pubs. Once we had worked out where to get a programme (the one we bought from the news-agent didn't include fringe events, but then we found the main site) we found there we 3 'official' sessions/ day. At least one of the musicians we spoke to would have liked the sessions to more specific. They were all of the 'see who turns up and sings/plays/recites' type not the 'English tunes in the Rose & Crown' / 'Irish in the Angel' / 'French in a secret location that few know about' type (well, maybe there was a secret session somewhere)
Colin Matthews , Helen and friends did an excellent job keeping a good balance in the Golden Lion in the first Sunday session.