Hosting a house concert

Over the years I've hosted occasional live-in-the-living room concerts with top-notch artists--Peter Mulvey, Louise Taylor, Jennifer Kimball, Stephen Fearing, Sons of the Never Wrong...and most recently Galitcha, a group from Ottawa that mixes Indian folk and Bollywood songs with elements of western folk and jazz. Every time I experience music in this down-home environment, I feel so privileged. Even people who love acoustic music get so few chances to hear great instrumentalists and a singers in a room, without the sonic hyping of either a PA system or a recording studio, and without the separation of a stage.

Some artists have told me they find house concerts a little too intimate--the audience is literally at their feet, dead quiet, and not hidden by stage lighting. But for musicians who are comfortable being this up close and personal with listeners, the interaction before, during, and after the show can be exhilarating. And for the audience, not only is the music itself often a revelation, but there's a palpable sense of supporting creativity. When you buy a CD or a 99-cent download, you may have a vague notion that a portion of your money goes to the singer, player, or songwriter. But at a house concert, the creator is right there, singing and breathing and strumming and greeting you afterward. The human connection--the thing we miss the most in this atomized age--is real and immediate.