guests, worth, are not measured by their popularity,what codswallop .
if we followed that route entirely,the only people to get booked would be the more commercial end of folk[the popular music end ]unaccompanied traditonal singers like Geoff Wesley ,and the late WalterPardon,would not get a look in.
..    .folkclubs have relied on guest performers for over forty years,that doesnt mean they are not clubs.Clubs are places where people socialise,folk clubs are places where people socialise,at the same time expecting to hear quality folk music .
I do agree an essential part[imo] of a folk club is a good nucleus of singers of a high standard,and that good clubs should be able to run several singers nights without having to book a guest,and that they should not have to rely upon a guest to draw people to the club,in other words people want to go to the club because they want to sing,and want to improve,at the same time SOCIALISING .
but since the beginning of the folkrevival,the folkscene has encompassed different sorts of clubs,it has always been a broad church