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How to find hosts?
#11
(26 Nov 2014, 06:45 PM)miketremblett Wrote: So I'm trying to break peoples misconception and turn them on to your model.

You can do it, Mike! People who have been to shows at the house concert "venues" in your town may have thought it was cool. But I guarantee it will not compare to the experience they'll have when they host a great performance in their own home, for their own friends. The big difference when they are *part* of creating the event is that they take pride in it and in the effort to support an artist they like and in being able to offer such a unique experience for their friends. Not even close to the "house concert venue" experience. Wink 
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#12
What do you mean by venues when you say "few venues that have gotten well known for doing house concerts"?
Just say no to lazy rhymes.
www.benallfree.com
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#13
(27 Nov 2014, 09:43 AM)benallfree Wrote: What do you mean by venues when you say "few venues that have gotten well known for doing house concerts"?

The only house concerts happening here are those by 'venues'. House Concert series run more as home businesses. Bringing in bigger acts and selling regular tickets at a fixed price. Getting booked there is much like slogging it out getting club or festival gigs. Still great shows, but not the grass roots approach. We have a few around New Brunswick like Four Corners, The Hollywood Star Room, The 'Dining Room'. All in peoples homes.
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#14
Hi there
Quote:.


First of all - great place to be - love all the sharing - very powerful.

I am based near Glasgow in Scotland and our first two concerts are at the end of this month. I have purchased 30 folding chairs as an investment to ease the process for potential hosts - ie all we need is the space and the guests.

Our first host set up a FB event and invited 36 people. The second invited via FB. As they are both local, I have visited both and chatted with them to boost the "team spirit". Has been a very positive experience.

One thing I have found is that as the producer/manager (and fiance) of the artist, me dealing with all the details of staging the concerts has allowed Christine to concentrate 100% on the artistic content of the shows.

To date we have mainly played clubs (bowling/tennis/golf) as a cabaret act. This has involved one third all acoustic, one third American songbook (tracks and follow spot) and one third pop/rock/blues. Now we can build on our Edinburgh Festival show and do 100% acoustic. I will provide whatever backing/harmony is requested of me, but this is Christine's show. She really seems to love the idea of the intimacy + the chance to let people know details about the song where they will actually listen. Wonderful!!

Oh yes, I am going to approach all the club's we have played with a House Concert offer to see if they would like to stage one. There is a pretty good chance that as long as I can maintain control of the night for at least 2.5 hours, then we will be able to make it work. We will really push the "you can host one in your house" aspect at these events. Will let you know how that branch of our strategy goes. Given that they won't need to spend £600 ($900) for us as a cabaret act, it may well seem a pretty good bet, particularly through the winter months.

Will let you know :-)

John
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#15
Adding a thought on a couple of other ways to approach this. I have played five house concerts over the past two years, and the breakdown has been:

- 2 charity events
- 3 for "superfans" (who also happen to be good friends).

The two charity events have both been under an annual "Great Gathering" fundraising campaign for my kids' school, and it was very much a "win-win" in that I had the chance to expose my music to a group of peers who would not otherwise have likely come to a show and, obviously, was able to raise some money.

The three shows for the superfans were arranged by me actually striking up one-on-one conversations with people I thought would be willing hosts, and it worked out great. Two in the metro I'm based in (Minneapolis, MN), and one out of state.

Neither of the two approaches I took above are necessarily inherently "scaleable," if you are looking to start doing the concerts on a more regular basis. But they ARE a way to get your foot in the door of this new model of concert. And also, I didn't do a particularly good job of using the concerts as an opportunity to solicit future hosts. And it occurs to me now that a modest few shows like this (arranged by whatever means) could certainly be the beginning of a snowball that grows as it rolls down the hill. It would just be a matter of being really strategic about putting the call out for future interest and following up.
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#16
Just a quick note about chairs. I purchased 30 collapsible chairs that fit in the back of my car. This enables me to either supply all the chairs for a house concert or simply augment the seating they already have. They really have been a worthwhile investment.
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#17
(19 Jul 2015, 02:12 PM)johnsparks Wrote: Just a quick note about chairs. I purchased 30 collapsible chairs that fit in the back of my car. This enables me to either supply all the chairs for a house concert or simply augment the seating they already have. They really have been a worthwhile investment.

This is a GREAT idea. 

I firmly believe that the more aspects of a house concert you can shape in the way you want, the better the concert will work out for you. If Shannon and I had space to bring chairs we would absolutely do so. 

Shows with uniform seating set a firm expectation for what to expect, which results in better engagement, and therefore better donations and merch sales.
--
jamie hill
shannon's husband & partner in crime
co-inventor of the house concert model & co-author of the book
which is why i reply so often on here
i produce, mix, & master records
you can hear my work at  deptofenergymgmt.com/work
Tacoma, WA, USA
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