Love all these comments. I am noticing that things are very different US/UK, trad/American folkscare, oldtime/bluegrass, and so on.... would also have to say that whatever we are forming here in our rural county, it's different from most of what I think is the norm in the rest of the US. It's evolving to fit the area and the people in it, is about all I really know. :~)

Update--

We've come up with some motivation to get the songs going again among core members, and maybe they'll get excited enough to tell other people about it. Our band (The Good News-Goodtime Band) originally started out as a singalong group-- we played, and we went out and around to people who wanted to sing. Songs were about 2/3 folkstuff and 1/3 gospelstuff. We slowly attracted other people who like to play and/or play & sing.

Then (some years ago now) we got a regular weekly church gig, so what we knew in common tipped to 99% gospel. Our jams got more and more instrumental, sort of for respite from that, so we attracted people who liked fiddle tunes. That was at about the time we started to advertise our jam. We called it a jam, not a song circle, and there ya go.

SO-- we have a gig at the end of August that is IN a church, but FOR community outreach during the town festival. Hm! Time for the renewal of the singalong folkstuff! We are much better musicians now, especially from working out all the fiddle tunes. So we will poll the band members on what songs to work up for that gig, and this will create a motivation to share/preview some of them on jam night.

~S~