Sunday, June 7, 2009

House Concert

A brief interlude from farm work...
House concerts are something I miss from our Houston days. For those not familiar, here is what Wikipedia says about them:

The definition of house concert is not definite but is generally taken as a concert that's presented in someone's home, or a nearby private space, for example a barn or back yard.

  • Usually, but not always, the audience capacity is smaller than at a coffeehouse or club.
  • Usually cash is collected at the show. Generally tickets are not sold in advance.
  • The money collected usually (but not always) goes straight to the performers, with no "profit motive" on the presenter's part.
  • Often, but not always, house concerts are conducted "by invitation" (for practical reasons), rather than as "public" concerts like a club or concert hall.
  • Often - again with exceptions - there is little or no "sound system" - performers play and sing acoustically, unless someone needs a little amp for their keyboard.
  • Refreshments, if any, are usually either a "pot luck" brought by the listeners, or provided by the hosts using a bit of the gate receipts.
  • Sometimes - but definitely not always - the performers get a meal and/or lodging with the presenters as part of their compensation.

Luckily we have wonderful music-loving friends from our Houston days that have recently relocated to Des Moines, and last night they hosted a house concert with musicians Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart. The Thompson house was a perfect venue for 70-some friends to get up close and personal with this talented duo. This was my first exposure to Stacey and Mark and I've become a quick fan. You can check out their music at Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart.

Huge thanks to our Thompson-friends for hosting this wonderful event and for including us in the fun!


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

OMG! I don't recall an invitation:)

This is my favorite kind of music. I checked out Stacey's and Mark's website and love the songs. I'm also huge fan of Stacey's brother and his album last year was my favorite of '09. I like the one-at a glace view of PFI blogs from the new pfi blog so you can see what's new at a glance.

Headfam said...

Sounds like fun!

Sally said...

How fun!! I got to see Stacey perform in NY, and it was a treat. Will you have a house concert at the Blue Gate soon?

Anonymous said...

That does sound awesome. I think it would be nice to integrate into a local potluck sort of setup. Hmmmmm:)