My first reaction to this was the rather depressing one that this might actually be successful in its own terms. However I wonder if that is true. Is there really a demand in Cheltenham for three folk concerts on consecutive nights? Since they have excluded the visitors who used to travel from all over the country for the original festival, they are going to have to attract the locals.

A considerable number of people on the folk scene aren't very interested in big concerts and prefer a more intimate atmosphere. The cost of tickets may also be a factor - festival tickets are expensive but you get a lot more for your money. And whereas at a festival you can simply ignore the acts you don't like, with individual concerts you have to decide which ones to shell out for. My guess is that many will choose to go to only one, or perhaps two.

Of course Mr Nejrup's remit is not to run a folk festival or even to put on folk concerts, it is to run a venue and to put on a wide range of entertainment. Whether or not individual events are financially successful doesn't matter as long as the year's budget is met. No doubt this will achieve his targets while at the same time being a lot less work for him and his staff.