The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #118184   Message #2552988
Posted By: Mark Dowding
30-Jan-09 - 12:00 PM
Thread Name: how to improve folk clubs
Subject: RE: how to improve folk clubs
If anybody new comes to the club then talk to them and make them feel welcome and part of the group. I always make a point of asking names and welcoming newbies when I start the night at my club or maybe at the interval if they've sneaked in when we've started. I always ask them if they've enjoyed the evening at the end of the night and hopefully they have although they're unlikely to tell me it was a load of rubbish I imagine!

Furniture is usually a case of making do with what's there. I don't think I've been anywhere where people bring their own chairs - cue a series of posts calling me a liar! The club I go to on a Sunday has chairs where the seat padding has seen better days and the bolts that hold the seat to the frame can cause a bit of grief (you may have noticed last Sunday Tom!) but people bring cushions or use beer mats as padding over the bolts.

Lighting may be a case of experimenting with the switches and seeing what works best. At my club I usually turn the middle lights off and leave the side lights on and ceiling down spots faded down at one end but up at the performance end. It depends what's in the room.

Cheers
Mark