The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #116964 Message #2515722
Posted By: Jack Campin
15-Dec-08 - 09:17 AM
Thread Name: Why folk clubs are dying
Subject: RE: Why folk clubs are dying
Edinburgh Folk Club seems to have a pretty successful formula - no floor spots at all, instead there is a support act (or sometimes two) who have practiced a bit. (The support act is usually a dreadfully dull singer-songwriter with a sidekick, but they are dependably competent and probably appeal to the sort of person who likes that sort of thing. At least they don't go on too long). Leith Folk Club does the same thing. They don't need to have floor spots since there are plenty of other session/singaround/open-mike venues in the area.
Their audience is about as old as those other posters are describing, though. Younger people go to a more heterogeneous range of venues - the session or open-mike scenes for participants, and for listeners, "alternative" clubs like Out of the Blue, the Bongo Club, the Forest Cafe. I'm not sure we have a generic name for those yet. Typically they don't run two successive events are in the same format and genre, though organizers may set up a series of events, like the regular "Balkanarama" things (Balkan concert with food and Balkan disco).