Just for now
Definition and 'pigeonholing' are very much a part of this discussion - if you advertising you are selling something and then try sell them something other than what you advertised, people stop coming to your shop - that's what has happened on the club scene and unless you do something about it it will continue to damage folk scene
inging in pubs is both restrictive top the singer and intrusive to the regular customers (the chances of finding a pub where this is not the case is extremely difficult, as we have found)
Our folk song repertoire includes long narrative songs, particularly "intrusive" ballads
It is unreasonable to expect pub regulars to remain silent through the length of an average ballad or song and it is damn near impossible to make a half decent ballad to a background of pub noise
That's why the folk scene evolved in booked rooms adapted specifically to sing in
A for festivals - the ones I have attended are for showcasing established singers - where singing sessions take place have been usually in the circumstances described above
They need to be additions to the club-based scene, not replacements for it
Folk clubs evolved as community based venues relying on local talent and energy, grass-root venues rather than concerts - with all the fantastic advantages that brought
Lose that and you've lost a great deal of the reason for singing folk songs
Jim Carroll