Oddly enough my experience is quite the opposite of yours, Peter. Although I had always done a lot of singing in choirs, I was nervous about to singing solo, and the first folk club I attended was a cosy little singaround in a basement bar. It wasn't at all cliqueish, they were very welcoming, so on the second turn around the room I decided to have a go, and did a song (and yes, I knew it all and didn't mess it up even though I was nervous). Some of the singers in that club were very good, others middling, but almost everyone seemed to sing as if they cared about it, and as if the song mattered.

In that club I built up my confidence and my repertoire, although I'm not defending in any way the idea that a club like this is a good way to practice. I always prepared what I was going to sing and made sure I knew it, which I found was essential in conquering the nerves.

Eventually I branched out to other clubs with a more formal "floor spot" pattern, and there I found I was ready to come out to the front of the room and sing. If I hadn't experienced the informal singaround first, I might never have had the confidence or the skill to get up and do a floor spot of a couple of songs in front of a roomful of people.

Marje