House concert - is this a common thing?

[gln1955]

This came up in the local CL. Singer-songwriters "touring" by having folks along the way open their house for them and charging their friends and family. Is this a new thing? I don't get out much, so maybe this is an accepted thing for original artists.

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The pertinent part:

"Illinois-based songwriters Stone & Snow are performing a house concert tour through the greater OH/IN/KY area in March and looking for adventurous music-lovers willing to host a private house concert in the greater Dayton area on Friday, March 20th. Hosts provide a space (living room, basement, studio, etc) and invite guests who bring a suggested donation for the performance. Thank you for supporting indie songwriters - hope to hear from you soon! Bio below--"

 

[Paulabass]

They are getting really popular. I know a lot of solo artists who love doing them. They play for up to about 30 people. Cost per guest in Canada is about 20-30 dollars.

 

[5StringBlues]

We used to do house concerts in the Houston area around 20 years ago.


These were generally put on by older "folkies" who didn't want to drive into Houston or be in the bar scene anymore.



But it was they who asked the bands to come play,and not the scenario you speak of.



Paid fairly well as I remember.

 

[knumbskull]

Also happens in the diy punk/metal type world, i hear.

I haven’t come across any in the UK, but i live in the kind of places where that wouldn’t be practical for noise reasons.

 

[juggahnaught]

The world of music has changed and is still changing since the mega-market isn't a thing anymore. It's a different world - a brave new one - and in this world, endeavors like these make sense.

I've played a house show myself and I've been to venues that are, well, people's houses. They generally are musician-owned. I highly doubt this is a new thing; maybe it's uncommon in your area.

 

[TN WOODMAN]

Pat Di Nizio (RIP) started his Living Room Tours a few years ago. For a reasonable amount he literally came to your house and played the most intimate show for you and your invited guests . Fantastic concept. We had a ball. I noticed The Bottle Rockets we’re doing this recently and played in a neighboring town to me.

 

[Aspoiler]

I had the pleasure of seeing Michael Manring at a house concert several years back. Incredible player and experience.

 

[ArtechnikA]

They play for up to about 30 people. Cost per guest in Canada is about 20-30 dollars.

+1 to that.
$20 from 20 people is not bad for a day's work, and that doesn't count the CD sales.
"Typically" lodging and a meal is provided by the event host so even expenses are low.
Logistically, it lends itself to singer/songwriter quiet-ish performances and suburban settings with adequate parking - unless you've got a metro audience and good public transportation infrastructure.

 

[LBS-bass]

First one I went to was in the mid to late 90's. Most recent one I've been to was in the mid 2000's. It's not a new thing, but as someone above said, it's generally something musicians or music fans do themselves, not something that happens because a band is begging for a venue.

 

[cmcbass]

They're popular with younger originals bands in my area. I've played quite a few of them. Nobody in my "scene" charges money for them though.

 

[vvvmmm]

I know Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate, Miracle 3, The Baseball Project) does 'em, because I have a cuppla CD's from some shows.

 

[thetragichero]

my first show ever was a hardcore show in a backyard in suburban nj in like.... 1996?
house/basement shows were big in the Northeast. lifetime even had a song called "theme song for a New Brunswick basement show"
they're common enough down here in Florida. years ago my friends lived in an apartment above two businesses that was a diy venue at least two weekends per month
other incentive diy venues I've been to: storage units (either inside or outside with a generator), warehouses, etc

 

[Tim Skaggs]

I haven’t heard of any previously huge artists doing it, but I’ve heard about some moderately successful artists from the past doing it, usually solo. The going rate I’ve heard has been mentioned; $20 a head with a minimum of 20 heads.

 

[Dave Leighton]

Played house shows along the west coast throughout 2000-2008 quite a bit. Whatever it took to get the music out...

 

[brianrost]

This came up in the local CL. Singer-songwriters "touring" by having folks along the way open their house for them and charging their friends and family. Is this a new thing?

They go back decades. Here in Boston in the 1990s there was a collapse of the coffeehouse circuit most folk musicians worked. That got house concerts sprouting up all over the place. It is weird seeing a performer with a dozen albums out who tours the US and Canada playing for 20 people in someone's living room, but it is what it is. It's no different than the basement shows that punk rockers attend or "rent parties" that were common in the Afro-American community.

I've even played "house dances" where someone with a large house or barn hires a band to play for dancers. Swing dancing, cajun/zydeco, European folk dancing, etc.

One of those "you can't make this stuff up" stories: Back around 1990 Patrick Moraz, who played keyboards for Yes and the Moody Blues, undertook a US tour where he only played house concerts. Because he was a Steinway endorser, his management would arrange for a piano to be delivered to the house! My boss at the time who was an organist and choir director put a concert on, raising money for a local charity and having Patrick play the pipe organ he had built inside the house.

 

[MrLenny1]

These days, a gig is a gig.

 

[pbassjbass]

House concerts seem to be pretty popular, and I've heard the money's not bad. I haven't done one in a long time. Of course then they were called rent parties.

 

[Ric5]

This came up in the local CL. Singer-songwriters "touring" by having folks along the way open their house for them and charging their friends and family. Is this a new thing? I don't get out much, so maybe this is an accepted thing for original artists.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

The pertinent part:

"Illinois-based songwriters Stone & Snow are performing a house concert tour through the greater OH/IN/KY area in March and looking for adventurous music-lovers willing to host a private house concert in the greater Dayton area on Friday, March 20th. Hosts provide a space (living room, basement, studio, etc) and invite guests who bring a suggested donation for the performance. Thank you for supporting indie songwriters - hope to hear from you soon! Bio below--"

they are trying to fill up empty dates on their tour???

 

[StayLow]

It's been popular for a long time. Touring punk/hardcore bands playing the family garages of young fans launched some big careers.

These days it's a fantastic circuit for smaller quiet bands and solo artists, or louder bands willing to tone it way down, as you'd expect if playing in a typical home. Some make a decent living off it.

They're a blast. Often in out-of-the-way communities that artists typically don't stop at. Great way to fill the itinerary between bigger gigs/cities and see more normal places than truck stops and dives along the Interstate.

The audience is up-close and intimate, attentive, usually very generous, much more likely to become future fans & supporters since you can connect with them personally, and a much better attendance and payday than you'd typically get as an unknown act booking into some random tavern or cafe since in this case the host is doing promo for you.

Also few expenses: a decent place to stay, home cooking, laundry, and the kids of the house get exposed to different people and artists. Win/win/win upon win.

Yet another of the many ways in which artists today have far *better* opportunities for networking, gigs and music/merch $ale$ than they did back when, and much greater control over their careers.... IF they're willing to work.

 

[lowphatbass]

Around here(SF/Bay Area)there are pop-up shows, sort of like pop-up restaurants. They keep people on the hook via social media and then blast out the location and details a few hours before to build anticipation and buzz factor. Usually solo/duo format as the spaces are ridiculously small, I haven’t done any...that being said I don’t like mysteries or surprises when it comes to gigs so I’d likely pass anyway.