Nettlebed Folk Club

[Nick]

Nettlebed has been a landmark of the folk circuit for many years, playing host to pretty much everyone on the scene, including various Fairport allumni.

They have just sent this:



It is with sadness that we announce that the Nettlebed Folk Club will no longer be holding its events at the Village Club.

Audience numbers have not recovered after the pandemic and with the current ‘cost of living crisis’ in mind we were already discussing how we move forward. We did mention in our previous newsletters that, with the smaller audience numbers we were experiencing, we would have to take some hard decisions if they remained at these levels. Also a short while ago the Village Club’s finance & governance committee had insisted on a new contract before we have any more shows and after careful consideration we have all agreed that we would not be comfortable with some of the contract conditions in the current climate.

We are therefore concerned that the combination of these two factors would make the Folk Club not financially viable in its current form.

We fully intend to continue our activities on a less frequent basis and at a different sized venue and we will inform you of all the details very shortly. We will also be contacting all advance ticket holders individually.

This has not been an easy decision but it is the view of all our committee.



Sad news, and I fear, indicative of the future for other clubs.

Nick

[davidmjs]

That is sad.  I've never been, but they had an impressive reputation and an amazing list of gigs...

[Will S]

I used to be a regular before we moved to the SW, and it was an amazing place to go and see bands we'd never have seen otherwise. Very sad news.

[ColinB]

The Platform in Morecambe, where the chaps played last year, has been under threat of closure. It's a council run venue and they, like most other councils, are looking to make savings with music venues looking like easy targets. But the latest news is that it is likely to be mothballed until their financial situation improves.

[wayne stote]

Sad news. I used to go practically every Monday when I lived in Oxford during the Nineties. The club introduced me to a whole host of bands that became real favourites.

It was the first place that I ever saw Show Of Hands, around the time of the Beat About The Bush album, with only about fifteen other people in the audience. They played on a temporary  "side stage" which the venue used whenever they hadn't sold many tickets, but they performed like they were already at the Royal Albert Hall. Just brilliant. I remember they opened with Wolf At The Door which I've never heard them play since.

Curiously, I was expecting a concert by the American folk trio of the same name and it was several songs in before I realised I wasn't watching a support act.  

[Chris from Fieldtown]

Sad news and one which affect many artists who used this venue as part of their touring. I am a little surprised, the artists they book are are well known and have a good followings so I'm not sure what has happened. I guess money is tighter and people less willing to turn out. I too worry about other venues if Nettlebed has gone.

[Glen S]

I was so sad to hear this & it did come as quite a shock! I have been to Nettlebed Folk Club many times over the past 20 or so years, although admittedly not since the pandemic hit. My friend lived nearby at Woodcote at the time before she moved to France, & it was a great place to meet up every few weeks. I'm still amazed at the caliber of musicians & talent I was so fortunate to see there! Dave Swarbrick & Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy, Show of Hands, Dave Pegg's Birthday Bash, Little Johnny England, Altan, & many more. I do hope there will be a return of sorts & wish the club organisers & volunteers the very best for the future!  

[hendo (Dave)]

This relates to discussions on f book etc and with musician friends, promoters etc .
Since lockdowns /Covid there seems to have been a marked change in the behaviour of a particular age demographic.
Oysterband expressed it well in a recent interview when they thought there would be a heightened demand , or even a demand for live music and ticket sales after lockdowns and it hasn’t happened. This has affected folk clubs, some venues and attendances for bands who have an older demographic audience.
Is it continuing fear of Covid , a change in behaviours during lockdowns or economic factors?
It doesn’t seem to be affecting summer, outdoor folk fests, which may also draw a younger audience.
Venues are closing . Some are adapting. Local (ish) to me Nuneaton folk club has worked really hard….
quality of line up…advertising….etc to rebuild an audience.
Temperance in Leamington Spa has managed to attract a younger audience and really pushed and used the venue for a variety of musical genres and entertainments,
Wurzlebushfolk club , Rugby, continues to strive, again due to the commitment of volunteer organisers.
I admit, to protect my wife’s health , I was wary of returning to some venues.
I played at a very full open mic last night but it has taken time for some people to return and others have decided it is still ‘not safe.’
In a recent article in R n R mag , Martin Carthy expressed his view that folk clubs had gone underground again. An aging audience? A failing interest in folk music…..whatever that is.
I will be off to see Benjamin Kirkpatrick at Wurzlebush , later this month and Fairports in March but I have yet to return to my much loved Musician Pub in Leics…..an irrational fear of small, crammed spaces.?
See how long it takes for me to get over that one…….but I suspect it’s why clubs , like Nettlebed, are dying…..

[davidmjs]

This relates to discussions on f book etc and with musician friends, promoters etc .
Since lockdowns /Covid there seems to have been a marked change in the behaviour of a particular age demographic.
Oysterband expressed it well in a recent interview when they thought there would be a heightened demand , or even a demand for live music and ticket sales after lockdowns and it hasn’t happened. This has affected folk clubs, some venues and attendances for bands who have an older demographic audience.
Is it continuing fear of Covid , a change in behaviours during lockdowns or economic factors?
It doesn’t seem to be affecting summer, outdoor folk fests, which may also draw a younger audience.
Venues are closing . Some are adapting. Local (ish) to me Nuneaton folk club has worked really hard….
quality of line up…advertising….etc to rebuild an audience.
Temperance in Leamington Spa has managed to attract a younger audience and really pushed and used the venue for a variety of musical genres and entertainments,
Wurzlebushfolk club , Rugby, continues to strive, again due to the commitment of volunteer organisers.
I admit, to protect my wife’s health , I was wary of returning to some venues.
I played at a very full open mic last night but it has taken time for some people to return and others have decided it is still ‘not safe.’
In a recent article in R n R mag , Martin Carthy expressed his view that folk clubs had gone underground again. An aging audience? A failing interest in folk music…..whatever that is.
I will be off to see Benjamin Kirkpatrick at Wurzlebush , later this month and Fairports in March but I have yet to return to my much loved Musician Pub in Leics…..an irrational fear of small, crammed spaces.?
See how long it takes for me to get over that one…….but I suspect it’s why clubs , like Nettlebed, are dying…..

All valid reasons, but the other thing is people, well an awful lot of people, are just bloody skint at the moment and with ticket prices going in the same direction as energy bills there is only ever going to be one result.

[hendo (Dave)]

This relates to discussions on f book etc and with musician friends, promoters etc .
Since lockdowns /Covid there seems to have been a marked change in the behaviour of a particular age demographic.
Oysterband expressed it well in a recent interview when they thought there would be a heightened demand , or even a demand for live music and ticket sales after lockdowns and it hasn’t happened. This has affected folk clubs, some venues and attendances for bands who have an older demographic audience.
Is it continuing fear of Covid , a change in behaviours during lockdowns or economic factors?
It doesn’t seem to be affecting summer, outdoor folk fests, which may also draw a younger audience.
Venues are closing . Some are adapting. Local (ish) to me Nuneaton folk club has worked really hard….
quality of line up…advertising….etc to rebuild an audience.
Temperance in Leamington Spa has managed to attract a younger audience and really pushed and used the venue for a variety of musical genres and entertainments,
Wurzlebushfolk club , Rugby, continues to strive, again due to the commitment of volunteer organisers.
I admit, to protect my wife’s health , I was wary of returning to some venues.
I played at a very full open mic last night but it has taken time for some people to return and others have decided it is still ‘not safe.’
In a recent article in R n R mag , Martin Carthy expressed his view that folk clubs had gone underground again. An aging audience? A failing interest in folk music…..whatever that is.
I will be off to see Benjamin Kirkpatrick at Wurzlebush , later this month and Fairports in March but I have yet to return to my much loved Musician Pub in Leics…..an irrational fear of small, crammed spaces.?
See how long it takes for me to get over that one…….but I suspect it’s why clubs , like Nettlebed, are dying…..

All valid reasons, but the other thing is people, well an awful lot of people, are just bloody skint at the moment and with ticket prices going in the same direction as energy bills there is only ever going to be one result.

Yep, I did mention economic factors…..

[davidmjs]

All valid reasons, but the other thing is people, well an awful lot of people, are just bloody skint at the moment and with ticket prices going in the same direction as energy bills there is only ever going to be one result.

Yep, I did mention economic factors…..

Sorry, yes, I missed that

[Will S]

I think in the case of Nettlebed, it is more the demographic reason than the economic. They are in a very wealthy part of Oxfordshire.  But having been going there for 20 years or so, we (now mid-50s) remained among the younger end of the audience.  It was always good, but not common enough, to see younger people attending.

So if the older (and generally better off) attendees stop going, the club was always going to struggle, and I suspect that has been the main issue there, sadly.

[hendo (Dave)]

I think in the case of Nettlebed, it is more the demographic reason than the economic. They are in a very wealthy part of Oxfordshire.  But having been going there for 20 years or so, we (now mid-50s) remained among the younger end of the audience.  It was always good, but not common enough, to see younger people attending.

So if the older (and generally better off) attendees stop going, the club was always going to struggle, and I suspect that has been the main issue there, sadly.

Yeah Will. At the risk of being extreme a large proportion of  the demographic that attended folk clubs is dying , aging and hesitant about going out.
I played a lovely open mic last night……organiser in his 50’s. , everyone else late 60’s early 70’s a couple of stalwarts in their 80’s.
The trad folk club is disappearing.
Iintersting to see Cambridge folk fest has an American hip hop act and an American r n b act as their headliners…..times change.

[Shane (Skirky)]

Apropos of trad folk clubs, there’s an open mic night round these parts asking folk to pay to perform/attend. Is this a thing these days? There’s not a guest ‘headliner’ per se.

[hendo (Dave)]

Apropos of trad folk clubs, there’s an open mic night round these parts asking folk to pay to perform/attend. Is this a thing these days? There’s not a guest ‘headliner’ per se.

Local folk club..£4 entry , no guests…..so you pay to play but there is a buffet!

[ColinB]

Apropos of trad folk clubs, there’s an open mic night round these parts asking folk to pay to perform/attend. Is this a thing these days? There’s not a guest ‘headliner’ per se.

That might depend on where it's taking place. If the organiser has paid out for the use of a room then it's fair enough to charge punters to cover their costs. At the open mic I used to go to in Lancaster there wasn't an entry charge but then they regularly got a good number of people through the door who spent a fair bit at the bar.