HouSe Concerts
What is a house concert?
It’s a concert...in your house, your backyard, your friend’s house, your church, synagogue, community center, or anywhere you have access to that will fit me and a group of eager listeners. It’s a beautiful never-to-be-repeated musical event filled with songs and their stories and interactions between the musician and the listeners.
Why a house concert?
So often at the places that I play at (concert venues, music festivals, wineries, breweries) it can be difficult to hear the music and even harder to hear the words. At a house concert, everyone can get comfy, sit back and really listen to the songs.
From my perspective, a house concert is the ideal setting for my music. The songs I’ve written are deeply personal with the lyrics being the most important part of the song to me. It can be discouraging for me to play in places where the words can’t really be heard, so performing at a house concert really feeds my soul.
What do you need to do to host a house concert?
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A minimum of 15 attendees who want to listen to original music
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A space where I can stand and where listeners can sit comfortably for an hour or so.
Does it cost money to host a house concert?
I do not charge an upfront fee for house concerts, instead audience members make donations. I ask that you communicate to your guests ahead of time that this is a donation-based concert. I also ask that you make an announcement at the concert about donations. Don’t worry, I’ll walk you through this.
How many people should I invite?
You can keep it small, or you could have it be as large as 100 people, whatever your space permits. I do ask for a minimum of 15 attendees because with fewer than 15 people it is difficult for this to be financially viable. Once you’ve decided how many people you’d like to have attend, I recommend that you invite double that number.
Do I have to provide food and drinks?
This is totally up to you. You could make the event BYOB with snacks or have a potluck or just let the music be the main attraction.
I’ve never done anything like this before and I’m worried about how it will turn out
I will walk you through every step of the process. We’ll pick a date and a start time. You’ll make a Facebook event or send out an invitation and I can provide you with a template for those. For the actual concert, think of it as an evening of hanging out with friends. I’ll be providing the main feature, and you can just sit back and enjoy!
Will there be strangers coming to my house?
This is totally up to you. You can keep the house concert completely private and invite only. Or you could allow my fans who request an invitation to be included in your guest-list. I will never share your address with anyone without your permission.
What is the order of events?
Your guests will arrive, chat, and perhaps get a drink or a snack for around 30 minutes. Then I’ll play music for around an hour and a half. I will share stories about the songs, and I welcome any comments or questions during my performance. After the performance is over, it’s usually another 30 minutes of mingling and chatting. We can plan the specifics of the night together, and I am open to any special requests for music.
Are you willing to travel out of state?
Yes, but it depends on how far away you are. Feel free to reach out to me and we can discuss it.
Will you play music at a party at my house?
This is a different scenario but is still something I love to do. If you are looking to have an event where people socialize while I sing and play in the background, feel free to fill out my form on my booking page and we can discuss my rates for private events and parties.
If you’re ready to host a house concert, you can go to my booking page to see my available dates and start the booking process.
If you still have questions, please feel free to email me susanna@susannalaird.com and we can chat about details