Response to Questionnaire Findings

Thanks to everyone who responded to our recent survey at the club. Overall the feedback was incredibly positive and seemed to fully recognise and appreciate the ethos we have tried to create and maintain. Everyone who works at the club is a volunteer so it was heartening to get such a good result.

There were a few requests for change that we can respond to and some we have already have responded to. We have made a great effort to get the seating and lighting better on the night but of course with audience numbers varying so greatly it can still be a challenge.

More trad songs, singalongs, variety of instruments and women performers: This is a ‘folk’ club in the broadest sense with a ‘policy’ of welcome and inclusion. We are not trying to recreate the traditional folk club. We generally encourage people who have the courage to turn up and perform and we try and feature our own regulars and other local talent in our half hour sets. We are not really encouraging or discouraging any particular styles, performers or instruments. It is largely a matter of who turns up to perform on the night.

Using a PA for quiet performers: I am sure there are some performers over the years who would have benefitted from a PA but the room acoustics are so good that for most it isn’t really required. Nonetheless it is something we regularly revisit and debate. To try and manage the sound for up to twenty musicians in an evening would not be a task for amateurs and would easily descend into noisy chaos. It is an option we keep in mind but for now we are going to try and remain truly acoustic.

Hosting Guests/Professional Gigs again: The club stopped hosting these some time ago because it was expensive, stressful and hard work to put them on, yet audience numbers fell on those nights and regulars often didn’t turn up. This defeated the object for both the club and the pub that hosts us. We still have the option to host these events at some point in the future but for now at least, it is on the back burner.

The money we collect on the door and through the raffle goes firstly to fund the club and to pay the features a reasonable fee for their time and effort. Any profit is given to local charities. Recent beneficiaries have been SOLO, providing opportunities for children with learning difficulties, St Basil’s, working with the young homeless, the Sparkhill Foodbank project and Happy Hedgehogs. We are happy to receive suggestions for future charities providing they are local.

Thanks again for all your support over the years.