Sunday, April 22nd, 2007
are house concerts for you?
House concerts are one of the most important trends in
independent music today. Musicians across the country are
discovering a great way to connect with new audiences -
performing in people's homes.
There's just something about house concerts. The intimacy really
allows a deeper connection to the audience, and that connection
often leads to strong merchandise sales and lifelong fans.
Can you perform: - as a solo, duo, or small trio? - 60-90 minutes
of mostly original material? - with little or no amplification? -
for donations ($8-15/person) from those who attend?
The house concert community is currently made up of hundreds of
very loosely affiliated folk and acoustic music fans. They are
generally interested in:
- folk and contemporary folk
- singer-songwriter
- bluegrass
- country/americana
- and some celtic.
If you perform rap, hard rock, cover tunes, or electronic music,
you won't find much interest from house concert presenters at
this time.
Also, many of the current house concert hosts prefer to book acts
they've seen before. They often go to music festivals, but some
will check out acts when they play nearby clubs. Since most
presenters only book 2 to 10 shows per year (it's a hobby, not a
job), many stay booked pretty far in advance.
But here are some positive trends...
1. More people discover house concerts every day. House concerts
are becoming a popular way to see live music, and a great source
of new fans for artists.
2. Through the internet, it is now easier than ever before for
artists and concert hosts to find each other.
3. Artists are actively growing the market. Every time they play
a house concert, they have a good chance to turn an interested
fan into a house concert host. This new host might then enjoy the
experience so much that he starts booking other artists.
4. The growing house concert community will open up to different
kinds of artists. Why not poets, children's performers,
instrumental or flamenco guitar? Any act that can fit into a
living room might eventually find a fan here.
So if you are looking for an alternative to bars, noisy cafes,
and other venues which provide too many distractions (TVs over
the artists heads!), house concerts might be a great new source
of gigs to pursue.
How to get started:
1. Learn all you can about house concerts - how to put them on,
what's expected, what's optional, and how many opportunities
currently exist in your region.
Here are some great, fun to read articles:
http://www3.telus.net/oldfolk/housecon.htm by Bob Bassin
http://www.trritchie.com/hctext.htm by TR Ritchie
2. Start with your fans - these are the best opportunity an
artist has to get bookings quickly, and have them well attended
so you can make a nice profit. Remind them every time you send
out emails that you are now doing "house concerts" and include a
link to an article/site where they can get more information.
3. Host one yourself! If your living quarters aren't adequate,
find a friend, family member, or neighbor to put one on. If you
aren't ready to do a full 60-90 minute show, consider booking an
artist you really admire, and book yourself as the opening act!
If you are a talented performer who is comfortable being close to
the crowd, telling stories between songs, and hanging out with
new fans, you owe it to yourself to explore these opportunities.
*****
Fran Snyder is a singer-songwriter based in Lawrence, KS, who is
in love with doing house concerts. Fran created
http://concertsinyourhome.com, a site dedicated to creating more
opportunities for artists to perform "gigs where people listen."
The site is free to use, but artists may join ($25/year) to
promote their act. The site also funds a national press campaign
to increase the popularity of house concerts.
Fran Snyder's music can be heard at http://fransnyder.com
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Posted By isoundlikefran @ 11:52 PM
Author's site: http://concertsinyourhome.com
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poingly's comment posted April 28th @ 10:28 AM:
"If you perform rap, hard rock, cover tunes, or electronic music, you won't find much interest from house concert presenters at this time."
Um...have you BEEN to a house concert in the past 10 years? Electronic is ALL the rage these days. Dan Deacon, for instance, got famous doing his electronic music at house shows for years.
Commentors site: http://www.poingly.com |
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god_project's comment posted April 28th @ 10:38 AM:
No electronic? No punk? No rock? No metal?
...and you're from Lawrence?
Lawrence is (in)famous for house shows, from the legendary Pirate House (RIP) to dozens of others that have, and continue to, carry on the tradition. Rock your living room, your basement, the basement of the local skate shop, the old Victorian house, the back yard, or even the front porch (for the 6 minutes before the Lawrence police shut down the show...but hey, where else were we going to get 300 people?)
Commentors site: http://www.myspace.com/thegodproject |
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tracer_matula's comment posted April 28th @ 1:07 PM:
"If you perform rap, hard rock, cover tunes, or electronic music,
you won't find much interest from house concert presenters at
this time."
I disagree. House shows are very common in my town and will host just about anything. There's plenty of the singer-songwriter stuff--but we would have "indie" acts that ran the gamut: rock, pop, dance/electronic, experimental. I believe there is a veritable network of house venues that cater to any genre--you just have to find them thru internet or word of mouth or whatever.
Commentors site: http://www.myspace.com/tracermetula |
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world_history's comment posted April 28th @ 7:19 PM:
Thanks for the article Fran, but I would disagree slightly. There are many, many houses that throw shows for all different genres (not simply folk & acoustic stylings). Everyone should refer to a list that I help maintain at: www.dodiyusa.org.
The list is getting bigger and bigger. Have fun.
Commentors site: http://www.dodiyusa.org |
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rebecca_dru's comment posted April 30th @ 10:50 AM:
I've been doing "Salons" for the past year and having a blast. Now that I'm performing live again...I really was not very enthusiastic at the prospect of having to do the club scene again. I had taken a LONG hiatus from performing and gotten pulled back in by some long time fans. I definitely prefer the intimacy of being in one's home. The Salons I produce involve doing an hour set and then inviting any other guests to perform. We make a night of it...delicious food, great entertainment and lots of fun. Some nights we only have 8 people and some nights there are 50. It's taking the Salon from the 1930's and making it current.
Commentors site: http://www.rebeccadru.com |
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joelhansen's comment posted April 30th @ 9:07 PM:
"If you perform rap, hard rock, cover tunes, or electronic music,
you won't find much interest from house concert presenters at
this time."
It's certainly appreciated that this article attempts to bring to light the benefits of the community/DIY aspect of music scenes nationwide, but the phrase "out of touch" doesn't even begin to describe the quoted section above.
Commentors site: /profile/joelhansen |
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