No pops. Its just a statement of fact. The sailing club is not a pub and Bobs session is mostly music. Not them then. Anyone who works in/for a festival - mostly without pay - can run things the way they like. If you don't like it you have the choice to get involved and take on a lot of work - or not go.
The radio 2 best folk club award was based on views of visiting artists. This meant that clubs that had the most artists tended to get voted for most. Nothing wrong with that as I don't think it affected the way the best folk clubs run.   eg The cambridge folk club has a mix of open stage, the best of whom are asked to showcase, and some paid guest nights with invited ( usually local ) support. This model is more work than just having guests, but it encourages new groups/ solo performers to hone their skills with good PA provided, and means a lot more variety for the audience. I'm not sure there would be an easy way to vote democratically about this. The Conway sounds delightful.
FloraG