Hi Folks,

(My apologies if this message appears more than once - damn computers!)

Don't know if anyone will read this now that the BCFW has been and gone but there were a couple of references to the English Country Music Weekend (ECMW) and also the Six Bells so I thought I'd update you on our experience (I was co-organiser of the ECMW with Dave Hunt).

First, the ECMW was a tremendous success with approx 170 people attending from all over the country and maybe 75% of those attending were musicians. At one point we had approx eighty musicians in a single session all playing the same tunes, wonderful!

We made no attempt to advertise the event to the locals - having run a folk session in the town for fifteen months I realised quite a while ago that it is a thankless task to try and get them interested. Oddly though, the badges we had made with "ECMW" on them seemed to attract lots of attention with many people asking what it stood for and why we hadn't advertised it!

We had no Lottery funding or grants and therefore we had no commitment to provide "entertainment". The musicians were happy to play just for themselves – and they did, for hour after hour.

Ref the food at the Six Bells - the pub is a business and I realised early on that we could affect their restaurant trade if we took over the pub (I also noticed on the Saturday night at the BC Folk Weekend that people were not allowed into the pub until nearly ten because people were eating). Simple solution - I "booked" all the tables on Friday and Saturday and then took orders from those attending the ECMW - we filled the room both nights. I also asked Sue at the Bells to move the food slot forward to finish at Eight O'Clock to leave plenty of time for a session. In the event we packed the other bar on Friday evening, all day Saturday and Sunday which left the food bar quiet for people to chill out in.

I was in constant contact with Nev and Sue at the Bells all weekend making sure everybody was happy - it would appear to have worked because Nev has asked when we are having the next one. Those attending the ECMW also appear to have enjoyed it as we have already been asked to host the weekend again next year.

Lessons -

Know who your target audience are and focus on them.

Be realistic, don't expect people to just turn up - they won't.

Spending your own money, rather than Lottery money or grants, doesn't half focus the mind on what is practical and sensible.

Don't spread the event too thinly, better to have one or two events with lots of people rather than four or five sparsely attended.

Keep the landlord (and his partner) happy, don't take liberties and don't throw a pint of beer over his favourite barmaid.

JP@BC