"Folkies in the states are generally NOT noted for prodigious consumption of alcoholic beverages" - Yes, that's the impression I've got, though clearly there are exceptions, both ways. I wonder how these differences come about?

I suppose it's a chicken and egg situation. Folk Clubs in England have always tended to be in the function rooms at pubs, which tend to be the only place where you can get a function room (and not many of them left these days), and in the old days they tended to be free, on the understanding that those attending would buy a few drinks.

But in any case those attending would want to buy a few drinks - there's generally no sense that public house's are disreputable places to go to (well, some of them are, of course.) And my impression is that in the States there seems to be that kind of self-fulfilling assumption about bars.

Music sessions in the bar itself is an older tradition here that had virtually died out in most places, but has come back more in recent years, I imagine partly because there aren't the back-rooms any more, and also because of the role model from Irish pubs, where the older tradition had never died out anyway.

And then there are Morris Dancers of course who up the drink consumption of the folk community quite significantly.