Swallow Hill's pay-or-play Hoot is great, but I like the song circle concept better...every one sits together, everyone plays along, no one is "on stage". That is the great thing about the Mudcat get-togethers, and a thing which gets back to the basics of traditional music, in my humble opinion - the breakdown of barriers between performer and audience in favor of a shared participatory experience. Mudcattennany?

Great story, Don!