Hosting a musical concert right in your own living room is an excellent way to connect with great music and friends today. Doing a house concert is not a complicated thing but
there are a few guidelines to make your life easier and to help you create a wonderful event.

A house concert is quite simply a live music performance in someone's home. You invite your friends over to watch a live show. Each of your friends gives a small donation for the privilege. You then get live music in your home and your friends get a personalized and intimate performance to hear great music.

House concerts are a vital part of the folk music scene throughout the United States. A recent book was published about this relatively new phenomenon called House Concerts: A Guide For Musicians And Hosts.  Actually House Concerts are as old as folk music itself, for this is the way ‘folk’ made music long before record deals, stage lighting and reserved tickets!

Hosting a house concert is rewarding and fairly easy to do. Plus, we will help you every step of the way. Who knows you may like it and turn into one of those people who host house concerts regularly!

#1 The Setup

An average concert will have an audience of 20-50 people and a home needs to be ready to accommodate them. To fit that many people into a home, move regular house furniture to the sides of the living room and, hopefully, do the same in a connecting dining room, kitchen or parlor. Then, bring in more seating. Often, a host can borrow extra seating from a local church or call on neighbors to loan folding chairs or ask guests to bring lawn chairs or pillows for the floor, whatever suits your space and your guests.
• Set the chairs up in rows, just like a regular concert, leaving room for the musician at the head of the “stage” in the living room or parlor.
• Be sure the audience will be able to see the musician, as this is an important part of House Concerts.
• When setting up an outdoor House Concert, a host can choose to either provide chairs for the audience or ask them to bring their own.

#2 The Donation Jar

Typically, House Concert hosts will put out a jar or several jars marked with a suggested donation amount in the range of $8-20. A host should let attendees know ahead of time they will be asking for a suggested donation amount and all the proceeds will be going directly to the artist. This is important: All donation monies should be handed to the artist. Remember, they performed for free and paid for gas to get there. Plus, this avoids any sticky tax situations.

#3 The Goodies

A House Concert is often a pot-luck experience. A host can invite guests to bring a snack to share and a beverage to sip and set up a space out-of-the-way for goodies.  Most House Concerts will allow alcohol but this is an individual choice.  We don't mind either way.

#4 Get the word out


Remember, a hosts goal is to have at least 20 people show up for the concert and ideally closer to 30 or 40+ people. So, they need to get the word out about the amazing opportunity they're offering.

Start with e-mail.

Send out an e-mail buzz to live music-loving friends telling them about the show and the artist. Include a picture of the artist and biography information, too. If a host feels comfortable opening their home to the public, they should contact local media and tell them about the event. If they would like to keep the concert to family and friends, skip the media and focus on word-of-mouth advertising to get people interested in the show.
 

Here's How It Works

1. Contact your family and friends in your area. Tell them you are hosting a house
concert for Willson & McKee.
2. We'll contact a few of our fans in your area.
3. Ask them to donate money for the ticket price.
4. Post some flyers around town and get the word out.
5. Relax in your most comfortable lazy-boy and enjoy live music in your home.

It does require a little bit of work, but imagine two hours of Celtic and original music in your own home! You'll get a chance to spend some time with us and get to know us. And if you don't already have a copy of our CD, we'll be happy to give you a couple to help promote the event.

" I don't have the time."

Okay, to be honest, it's not that easy. There is some work in getting started. That's why I'm here to help. We have a huge mailing list, and you'd be surprised how many friends will jump at the opportunity to help you organize a house concert.

" I don't have fifteen friends."

If you don't have a fifteen friends, there are other options. Perhaps one of your friends would be willing to host a house concert? Or perhaps they have friends who will bring in fifteen people.

However, I must confess. In order to make a house concert worthwhile, we need to have a minimum of fifteen people at the show. We prefer to have twenty, thirty, or more, but fifteen will suffice.
But remember. We have a Willson & McKee mailing list with thousands of fans throughout the nation. So if you can at least get fifteen friends to a performance, we can probably pull in an additional 5-10. Then we're set for one amazing evening!



Okay, so how do I get started?

Quite easily. Start by contacting us . We'll figure out where you live and work out the logistics.
One of the big questions is how much to charge. Depending on where you live, this can vary. If we have to cover travel expenses for two, the cover charge for the house concert, might be a bit too much.
However, if we are touring within a couple hundred miles of you or on a weekday, that might be the perfect time to plan such an event. So what's the delay.

Want to read out more about House Concerts?

Search the Web for "House Concerts"  and you will instantly have too much info....pare it down and follow some common sense ideas!

If you need more info, contact us and let's talk. 719-640-5380

Before the artist begins performing, a host should do an introduction for them. Thank the audience, thank the artist and snag a few good lines from the artist’s biography to get the crowd primed for a good show. Also, tell the crowd that House Concerts thrive on a listening audience. Ask the audience to please keep their talk to a minimum while the artist is performing. They will have plenty of time to chat during the break between sets and after the show.

Turn Off Cell Phones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for considering a House Concert for Willson & McKee!!

719-640-5380   jigheads@jigheads.com

www.jigheads.com