How it works
House concerts are communal, artful, personal evenings, among the most memorable concerts a thoughtful host, a talented artist, and their guests can experience. Artists are in continual need to find the space and the audience to share their meaningful work with the world. Hosts are excited about giving them a place to play and showing their friends what's so great about their music.
Whenever I’m in an intimate setting—no sound system, no fancy lights, no band—and the listeners are just a few feet away, I’m struck all over again by why I fell in love with songwriting in the first place: a story, a string of a few words in a certain order, all planted in a bed of chords and rhythms, can arrest someone’s attention for a few precious minutes. In a world of clamor and distraction, that’s nothing short of miraculous. In that space, it’s not about how good or bad the song is, how perfect or imperfect the performance is; in that space we’re all reminded that we’re not alone, that our stories intersect—and if the artist and the audience are courageous enough to open themselves to a little bit of wonder, or a little bit of light, we can all come away a little bit changed. Over time, those little changes can shape our lives in big ways. All because of a song.
Questions & Answers
- What should I pay the artist? Do I tip them? Ask for a suggested donation? Should I promote buying CDs and merch?
- How long will the artist play? One long set or two shorter ones?
- What type of sound equipment, if any, do I need to provide?
- How much space are the musicians going to take up?
- Who do I Invite? How do I make sure there's a good turnout? What do I need to do do promote the event?
- How do I find a date that works for everyone and get confirmation from guests?
- Is my living room large enough? Should I borrow chairs?
- Is it going to be loud? Are my neighbors going to mind?
- Do I have enough parking space?
- How much communication/preparation time is this going to take?
- Are children welcome at the event?
Our goal is to get these kinds of questions answered easily between the host and the artist, so that nothing is standing in the way of the magic of the evening.
Using Host & Artist, the host and the artist are guided through a step-by-step process navigating all the details and agreements about the show, so they can focus on creating a welcoming experience for their guests.
What happens next
- An artist joins Host & Artist to get started booking house concerts,
- and invites potential hosts to set up an event.
- Host and Artist shows the host and the artist everything they need to do to make the show a success.
- The host puts up a guaranteed fee for the artist to reserve their time,
- decides if they will use a donation per ticket,
- and invites their guests to reserve a seat via Host and Artist.
- The artist is paid, and shows up to share a great evening of music at the host's house.