House Shows
What is a House Show?
You don’t always have to go out to the local coffee shop or music venue to hear a great concert. If you have a living room, back yard, garage, or maybe a giant trampoline, we can have a fantastic event for you and your friends and neighbors. Contact Devin for more info.
How do I host a show?
First, as a singer/songwriter, I have to tell you that I love the intimacy and fun of playing a more personal show with the audience right beside me, so thanks in advance for considering hosting me in your home. House shows are just as much fun for me as an artist to get to know you and your friends as it is for you to hear a night of music, and hosting is fairly simple! Here’s how it works:
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The Venue
The size of the venue is only as important as the number of people you wish to invite. Successful shows happen in all kinds of places – homes, backyards, wineries, galleries, patios, etc. – and can really work anywhere 20 or more people can gather. All I really need is to keep myself and instruments out of the elements and electricity, and of course enough space for the audience to be comfortable as well.
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The Guests
I’m happy to work along side you to find a date for the show that works for both of us. This can be both exciting and hectic. I find that the best dates to schedule are toward the end of the week as people are more free to relax and spend an evening with friends and live music. A house concert is a lot like having a few friends over for a dinner. Most often, the length of the show from the start of the music is only 2-3 hours. I’ll help things go smoothly with you, though juggling multiple peoples’ schedules can be a trick so flexibility is always appreciated.
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The Invitation
Invite a bunch of your friends and neighbors! Let them know in your invitation that this will solely be a donation based concert. That means they will be asked to donate what they want for the show on the night of the concert. Maybe you can make it a party and supply snacks and drinks, or go potluck and have your wonderful friends all contribute to the night!
We would ask that you not put a suggested donation amount. In our experience, we do better financially when people can donate what they are moved to in the moment without preconceived expectations. However, please let people know that you’ll be asking for donations after the performance and leave it at that. Above all else, if you have a friend who is financially challenged, we want them to be able to enjoy the evening without feeling pressured. While it’s true that this is how I make my living, sharing my music with people and building a sense of community is more important than money.
Once in a while we have a host who does not feel comfortable with asking their guests for money and would rather have a flat door charge. That is fine as well, just let me know and I can discuss the fee structure with you.
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The Concert
Here comes the fun part! Everyone gathers at the designated time before the show we all mingle for about an hour. This provides enough time for people to get some snacks and/or drinks and get comfortable, and allows time for fashionably late to arrive. However, it’s not so long as to obscure the purpose of the evening.
When it’s show time, we all gather together in the performance space and I play for an hour to an hour and a half. As soon as the concert is over the host gets up and makes an announcement encouraging guests to donate whatever they feel moved to give for the show they just heard. Then we get to hang out some more!
Some Final Thoughts
I will arrive two hours before show time, to set up and get things squared away.
It’s really important to us that these events are as easy as possible so that anyone can host or attend one, and the way we do that is to make them donation based events.
I will help coach the hosts with their donation announcement if needed. In fact I will make a point of going over it with you before hand. I’ve found that the success of the donations has direct ties to the enthusiasm of the host’s donation announcement at the end of the concert. And guests really enjoy being a part of supporting this unique and memorable event that they will have just been a part of.
House concerts are some of my favorite to perform, and I hope it will be a memorable night for you and your guests too!
