Great thread. We really have a large and dispersed community. For JB3: look up the Houston Folk Music Society. They have an active club with house hoots and monthly concerts. Also some very warm & friendly people. I agree with whomever said there is not much West of the Mississippi and East of the Rockies. But let me tell you about our song circle, The Oklahoma City Traditional Music Association (www.octma.org). We meet on the 1st Saturday of each month. From 6:00 to 7:30 we have various instrumental workshops taught by members and I co-lead a song swap (different theme each month, but we also swap non-theme songs). From 8:00 to 10:00, we all gather in the auditorium for a play-around. Members and guest can sign up to perform a number while the rest of us enjoy the concert. From 10:00 to mid-night we break up into various jam sessions. From time to time we sponsor and host a workshop by touring performers. Last week we had Cathy Barton & Dave Para do a workshop entitled "Music of The Golden Ring". It was great. Cathy & Dave presented a concert at Rocky's Music Hall at Bricktown (a superb venue) later that day. We have close to 200 members, with roughly 100 members, guests, and walk-ins attending each month. Admission is free. But you must pay to get out. Only kiddin', we encourage a donation that helps pay our monthly rent. With respect to the RUS issue; over half of us have RUS; we all use it from time to time; it is neither the gospel, nor the dreaded; we also have the Old Town School Song Book from Chicago. To all 'catters, when in OK, please come visit us.