“The House Concert Tonight was Fabulous”
— Charly Leys- Hammerfriar Art Gallery
“We Had 30-40 people their tonight. Just singing and dancing and going crazy”
— Rowan Biskey- Events Coordinator at Breightenbush
“The Show was a festive atmosphere that was comfortable and delightful and wonderful all around”
— Amber Knox- House Concert Host
House concerts are an intimate concert in your home that can bring together your friends and community in a unique way. These types of shows are my favorite kind of shows: the lack of traditional audience/performer barriers allows me to make strong, deep connections with people.
Anyone can host House Concert! you don't need to be an experienced house concert host to put on a wonderful event, and I will guide you through the entire process. In a nutshell, you provide the space and invite your friends once we pick a date. Typically I do shows by donation.
The area you choose for the concert space should be able to fit 15+ people. For many, that's the living room, but it can also be a porch, garden, etc. Couches, folding chairs, pillows, and blankets (or any combination of these) work great for seating.
The only requirement is that everyone in attendance can remain seated for the entirety of the performance. Think of it as a one-act play in your home.
Together We can:
Once the date is confirmed we will work together planning the details of the show with you. We will provide you with language for you to use in your invitations, so you can focus on getting the word out and not worry about what to say!
We will send you reminders that it’s time to send invitations out as well as a weekly series of easy copy-paste “teasers” that you can use to remind your guests on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and get some more RSVPs. We find that using the RSVP gets the best response rate, we highly recommend using it!
What Do You Need to Do?
We prefer not to charge a cover or even have a "suggested donation". Anyone can attend no matter their financial situation, and no-one feels any pressure to give a specific amount. You don't need to specify a dollar amount. We like to let people contribute what they prefer to. At the end of the concert, the host will make an announcement to encourage people to donate to the artist. We will give you a lot more information on how to do this and also give you a little cheat-sheet on the day of the show.
Part of the invitation will say something like this:
“There is no ticket price for this event, please come prepared to make a donation at the conclusion of the show”
If you would like to skip the donation and pay outright for the show our suggested fee is $450. Feel free to email us at TaiShanMusic@gmail.com if that is something you would like to arrange.
What Do You Need to Do?
House concerts work best when there are 15 or more people. Fewer than 15 people and it may lack the excitement you want. You can use Facebook Events and email as good ways to let people know about the show. Facebook Events are also great to post videos, pictures, and songs to get people excited about the show! We can help you with the invite when it comes time for posting.
If you don’t have 15 people you can think of invite, perhaps consider co-hosting the show with a friend or family and combine your powers like Captain Planet!
*A note on pets: I love cats and dogs and I don't mean to cause you any offense. An intimate house concert is almost like a bubble. Barking dogs (cats are typically not a problem), can be very distracting to both the audience and the performer and break that bubble. You know your pets better than me - together we can discuss options for the night of the show!
What you Need to Know:
On the day of the show, we arrive 2 hours before the showtime. This gives us time to get set up and square away some last minute items! The show will last approximately 1 hour. Then afterward, we can hang out as little or as much as you want.
Sample Show Schedule:
6pm: Arrival and set-up
7pm: Guests start to arrive
8pm: Showtime!
9pm - Mingling, selling CDs, hanging out.
10pm: Pack up and head out
As soon as we have played the last note of the concert, you, the host will get up front next to us with a container of some kind to make the donation announcement.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! THIS IS HOW WE ARE ABLE TO MAKE THESE CONCERTS HAPPEN
It goes something like this:
“This container is for donations. Tai and Austin have just given us something beautiful, now it’s our turn to give back to them. I’m going to leave this here on the stage. Let’s fill this up!”
Please leave the container on stage while we head back to the merch table.
What Do You Need to Know?
We will try to get you a date on the weekend, but please understand weekend dates are in high demand and it depends on where we are currently located in the country. Thank you for being flexible!
Visit and fill out our House Concert Survey here to get the ball rolling: https://goo.gl/forms/W82qEvP3l6XlBTJF3
Email Tai at TaiShanMusic@gmail.com to get started