Venue: The Main Point
Town: Pennsylvania, US

The Main Point was a small coffeehouse venue in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, that operated from 1964 to 1981. The venue hosted concerts by some of the top names in folk and traditional music, jazz, blues, rock, country music, and other musical genres, as well as comedy and poetry. The club, located on Lancaster Avenue, was known for its small intimate atmosphere and low ticket prices. The Main Point was started in 1964 as a small folk-based coffeehouse venue by four couples, Weld and Georgia Coxe, Janette and Bill Pierce, George and Charlotte Britton, and Jeanette and Bill Campbell, all of whom were inspired by the music and artists of the Philadelphia Folk Festival. After one or two seasons, the ownership was shared with a new co-owner, Bill Scarborough. Scarborough was the Main Point's booking director from 1964 to 1975. When asked at a peak in the Main Point's success how he made booking decisions, Scarborough cited several factors but admitted that, occasionally, his own musical tastes influenced him. "I think that the booking of a singer named Bruce Springsteen is the best example I can give you of personal taste and hunch entering into my final choice. Here was a new act out of nowhere, who happened to sign with a major label (Columbia), and put out an album that reminded me of the best of Dylan. I decided to book him as a headliner, even though he was barely known. We did alright with him, but not as well as we’d hoped. I still feel, though, that he’s going to be a big star." The venue was popular among both musicians and listeners. David Fricke, later a writer for Rolling Stone magazine, was in charge of press and public relations in through the mid-1970s. The venue was popular for not only its music, but also for its homemade food and homebaked goods. The venue constantly ran into financial troubles related to its intimate size (ironically, its size was what made it so popular). Musicians gave benefit concerts for the coffeehouse to help it out of its financial