I really don't get this argument.

Why is it that some people on here seem to think that, because Festival A operates very nicely with NO PA in small acoustically good venues, that that model needs to be grafted on to the big festivals that patently wouldn't be able to operate without PA.

Surely the broad church that is the folkscene can accomodate both extremes and all points in between.

It's horses for courses. You pays your money and takes your choice.

If you like Angie and Ken's festival, go there. If you don't like Shrewsbury, don't go there.

A very few people may get a nasty shock if they went to the wrong one by mistake, but just look at the Artist list and you can get a pretty good idea of what it's going to be like! For instance, I don't suppose you would see the Peatbog Faeries (or any other noisy Scottish band) at Angie's festival.

As an unashamed sound engineer, I can tell you that one of the most pleasurable experiences to me is to hear the human voice and acoustic instruments in an intimate, acoustically good venue without amplification. But, I also accept that the big venue with the big name artists is going to involve PA.

Mind you, experiencing good sound in those circumstances is not as common as one would like. But that is another debate, which I'm sure Cresby will be only too pleased to pick up on!!