I have been doing house concerts since 2014. I love everything about it. It may be the single biggest loss I felt from the pandemic. A lot of national acts have come through my living room, and I have an audience that knows what to expect from me, namely virtuosity in trad instrumental genres, Irish, Scottish, Quebecois, contra, choro. I never do singer songwriters, and I always get requests from them or their agencies that I have to say to gently, didn’t you do any research on me? 

I do about 10 concerts a year. I keep an eye out for who is touring that I want to have here, like through Fiddle Tunes, the Celtic Arts Foundation, or the many musicians newsletters I subscribe to, and I send them a query. I have my musical heroes in my sights and certain ones that I really, really want to have in my living room. 

I’ve built a mailing list of over 700 people. In the Before Times I would rarely have fewer than 35-40 folks attend, and a waiting list. Now it’s a different story. People are reluctant to gather indoors, and I’ve had acts that should have filled have only 15 people. I require vax, masks, and I’ve moved food and drink outdoors. It’s made me reluctant to book anyone now who has a travel nut to cover, and I’m going to prioritize local musicians for awhile. 

I ask for a $25 donation (I’ve raised it from $20 from before), and I have a Venmo QR code (from the artist) that sometimes gets used. I like Seth’s idea of pre-paying, I’m going to try that. I’ve been livestreaming on Facebook, but I haven’t figured out how to promote that, and I don’t get much viewership. 

I’ve talked to my homeowner’s insurance agency about what I’m doing, and I’m told my umbrella policy covers it. I’m throwing a party. I’m not making a penny. The Folk Alliance International folks, who have a house concert program of some kind, won’t take me because I have a Facebook Page and therefore I’m advertising to the public. 

There is an outfit, https://concertsinyourhome.org/, that gets people up to speed and is a kind of matchmaking service for hosts and musicians. It’s entirely singer-songwriter oriented, but they have great tips. https://homeroutes.ca/ in Canada serves a similar function. 

My living room has also been a contra dance hall, with a half dozen musicians and 4 or 5 sets of dancers. House contra dances are awesome. 

Glad to continue the conversation with anyone who wants to know more. 

Doug Plummer
Seattle, WA
https://www.facebook.com/DougandRobinHouseConcerts


On Sep 6, 2022, at 7:32 PM, Tepfer, Seth via Organizers <organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

We used to host house concerts (when the kiddos were younger and we had room to host people).
It was a blast. Definitely would encourage.

Money: We encouraged payment ahead of time (we did paypal, now Venmo, Zelle, Apple & Google pay options are all easy) but welcomed donations onsite. Everyone knew that all money went toward the musicians.

We always had light snacks and some beer and wine - and encouraged folks to also bring. Audience that has had a glass or two are more appreciative and donate more. And buy CDs more.

Keep it relaxed and casual, it's your home so that already makes it an awesome vibe. If you want to kick it up a notch, think a bit about lighting, but that is really over and above.

For the times it was appropriate to the musicians, we had them play 15-30 min of waltzes post concert. Most of our attendees were cross-overs from the dance world.

We did not do insurance - though as a caller I had callers insurance for gatherings. 

Seth Tepfer, MBA, CSM, PMP (he, him, his)
Senior IT Manager, Emory Primate Center
From: Emily Addison via Organizers <organizers@lists.sharedweight.net>
Sent: Tuesday, September 6, 2022 6:50 PM
To: organizers@lists.sharedweight.net <organizers@lists.sharedweight.net>
Subject: [External] [Organizers] Dance organizers - any resources for organizing house concerts?
 
Hey dance organizers,

Seems like many of our communities are opening up for dancing again .... exciting times!  I haven't gone to a dance yet but I know so many are enjoying getting back into the groove.

I'm thinking of starting to organize the occasional house concert as we've finished an addition that would be a great space for such things.

Do any of you know of a good tips sheet for how to organize an awesome house concert?  I'm thinking about things like (1) how finances work (e.g., collect payments ahead of time?) (2) how to make the vibe really awesome (3) thoughts on insurance.

Any leads on this kind of thing?

Thanks!
Emily Addison in Ottawa, ON

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