How to Host a House Concert
Part II: The Concert
Dateline: 10/01/99
If you haven't already read Part I on how to book your artist, you can find this article in this site's archives. Once you've booked the artist, here are some of the tricks to hosting a great evening.
The biggest problem or issue for most hosts is how to provide the biggest and best audience without necessarily inviting a bunch of strangers into their house. If you hope to bring in an audience beyond your friends and acquaintances, you'll have to advertise. In general, lovers of folk music are an honest, easy-going crowd and it's possible to advertise in local folk venues and newsletters without fear. Many folk radio shows will announce house concerts for free and this is also a pretty safe bet. Finally, an artist's own mailing list is an excellent medium. Advertising in local newspapers and arts weeklies is riskier. In any case, never give out an address - give only a phone number and/or e-mail address. First, this let's you control who comes to your house; if someone sounds rude or scary over the phone, you can always tell them sorry, the concert's full. Secondly, it lets you know in advance how many people to expect and when you really have to turn people away. Be prepared to be very firm with those making reservations. Let them know it's essential to come if they say they're coming or to call in advance to cancel. If you fill up, make sure to take phone numbers of those you turn away so that any cancellations can be filled. Nothing is more demoralizing than taking 30 reservations, turning away 15 anonymous callers, and then having 20 people show (it's happened to me). It never hurts to sell the tickets in advance.
In the end, though, it's the quality of the audience more than the quantity that's the most important part of your house concert. Ten avid concert-goers in a studio apartment beats forty people in a split-level living room who came to booze and schmooze. If you are inviting friends, family or members of a non-music organization - people who may not be as familiar with folk music or your guest artist - be sure they know who and what to expect. Make sure they understand that the concert is the main event of the evening and that all talking and eating will stop for the duration of the music.
Arrange the performance space so that the artist occupies the focus of the room and stands where traffic into and out of the room (latecomers, bathroom users, kids...) does not distract the rest of the audience. Also provide a way for the artist to get to and from that place. In the case of a house party where guests are not paying the artist's fee, it is essential to have a visually and acoustically separate area where those who do not wish to sit quietly and listen can hang out and talk. Ideally there should be an alternate activity there - TV, pool table, board games...
A house concert does not have to be a big production. Remember it's about the music - it doesn't have to be a party unless you want it to. You can supply light snacks like chips and cookies, soda and juice, coffee and tea, or you can make it a BYO dinner or dessert. Close off rooms you want to keep private and make sure the bathroom is well stocked (and that any private meds, etc are out of the way). Invite people to be at your house at least a half-hour before show time. Use your reservations list to keep track of who has arrived and how many you are waiting for.
Before the night of the concert, find out what the artist would like to eat and when. This is really important, since hospitality is a tricky negotiation of mutual respect and appreciation. This is doubly important in Europe, where hospitality is an ancient art and a guest's refusal of a host's offerings may be taken as an insult. Remember that it's often difficult or impossible for out-of-town musicians to fend for themselves when it comes to finding decent food. It's a good idea to have bottled water on hand, as well as makings for tea and coffee.
Singers normally eat little or nothing before a concert, as food in the stomach restricts the diaphragm's movement. Some prefer a very early dinner; many prefer to eat a big meal afterwards, though this may end up being quite late. If you are supplying a light snack before the concert, remember that most singers also avoid dairy, so no pizza, nachos or New England clam chowder. Check on any other dietary restrictions - a lot of folkies are vegetarians or vegans, or have special diets that restrict common foods like wheat (bread, pasta).
Check to see if your artist has any pet allergies and if so how to best deal with them (note: for cat/dog allergies, vacuuming the day of a concert is the worst thing you can do). A singer who does a lot of house concerts can generally get by for a few hours on a decongestant of some kind, but may need other accomodations for the night.
If you think you might want to do more house concerts in the future, be sure to ask the audience to sign up to receive concert announcements via phone/address/e-mail. If you start to get a substantial (ie. costly) list, be sure to discuss this with your artist when booking the concert, and agree on how much money you will want/need to cover promotional expenses.
Check the sites of some folks who have created successful concert series. A great place to start is Tim and Lori Blixt's Log Cabin Concert Series in New Jersey. Another is Gary Martin's Music By The Bay, in southern Massachusetts.
Hugh Blumenfeld, Editor
hugh@balladtree.com
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