Snail,
I find the suggestion that the only standard required to perform publicly is the desire to do so totally crass; be it from you or the Lewes committee.
We have heard a great deal about what being allowed to perform in public has done for the individual, no matter what stage has been reached, and precious little on what it has done for the audience/fellow performers/music - "me, me, me".
I'm sure that in some cases it is true that "if I hadn't been allowed to sing I wouldn't be where I am today.....etc". If it hadn't been for the army of 'practitioners in public' performing indefinable material they appeared not to think important enough to have worked it to an acceptable stage of performance, I might have continued going to folk clubs -as it was, I slung my hook and went off and did something else.
In my first posting on this thread I described a situation we were faced with at our club where somebody totally unable to sing in tune or remember the words of songs came back week after week and asked to sing. Over the year she did so she never improved; she ignored all offers of private tuition or assistance from our workshop.
She certainly wanted to sing - enough to write a letter complaining that we didn't give her enough floor-space. I'm sure if we'd offered her a six-song floor spot she would have leaped at the chance.
She met your criterion- she wanted to sing, the fact that she was incapable of doing so appeared to be beside the point - from her, and from your point of view.
Should we have allowed her to continue - should we have given her more spots - how about a six (or more) song spot - if not, why not? The desire was certainly there.
As far as I'm concerned, your 'wanting to sing' criterion is no different to Guest Referee's point:
"This is FOLK music we are talking about. FOLK sing/play folk music there are no standards, that's the fun of it."
For folk music, or any performance activity to survive there have to be basic standards. Is it being a Blue Meany to suggest that performers should be able to hold a tune and remember and make sense of the words BEFORE they take to the floor. If they use an instrument they should be able to tune it and play it competently. I am not asking for virtuosity, and I am not, as some people have suggested, talking about different levels of ability - I am talking of a minimum standard. Surely our music is worth that much effort?
Jim Carroll