Live Music and House Concerts
Last Saturday I performed at a community concert held at a church in Northridge. My friend, Paul, attends that church and is working to produce a show every other month.
I had the opportunity to perform with my friend, Stephen Schmitt. He’s the former lead guitarist for my band, Arrogant Sage. Good player, though we really didn’t have time to rehearse for this show. We did fairly well but both agreed we need to pick 10 to 12 songs and dial them in.
Some cool/interesting background about Steve. His father, Al Schmitt, is a legend in the music business. He was the recording engineer for Toto’s Africa album (Rosanna, etc), as well as Steely Dan, George Benson, Henry Mancini, and MANY others.
I met Steve several years ago at a music store in Thousand Oaks. He was in the expensive guitar room, which was normally closed unless you asked them to open it. I walked in and Steve said, “Try that Taylor… it’s 6 grand. It sounds great!”
I picked the Taylor up and he asked me to play something. I started playing my song, American Dream. Steve started accompanying me… it sounded nice!
When I finished playing he asked me the greatest question any mostly unknown songwriter can hear.
“Nice tune… who’s song is that?
If they don’t think you wrote it, it is typically because they like it enough to assume a more established and well-known, songwriter wrote it.
I told him it was mine and he asked me to play another. By the time we were finishing our second song a couple people who worked at the music store were listening in. One of them asked if we were an act.
“As of ten minutes ago we are,” I responded.
A few days later he was rehearsing with my band.
I have a few videos below from that night. If you have a few minutes, give them a listen. It’s only cell phone footage but I tried to EQ some of the bass out of it and make it a palatable listen.
Before we get to that, let’s talk about house concerts!
House Concerts: The What, Why, and How
I spoke to a couple that attended the show on Saturday. Turns out, the wife is a songwriter and performer and her husband is a producer.
They told me they were getting ready to do a few house concerts on the East coast. I told them I used to go across country twice a year playing house concerts. They wanted to know how I booked those shows. Our plan is to get together in the next week or to discuss.
What is a house concert?
A concert in a house. Duh… ;-) Or, as shown below, in a backyard, or in a garage, or a community center, or out by the pool. Anywhere that weather permits and people congregate.
Someone opens their home, invites people over, and the performer plays a show in that intimate, close-knit, setting.
Normally, tickets are NOT sold. The event is a donation only affair. This avoids certain commerce laws and also reduces pressure on the host and performer.
Why a house concert?
As a songwriter, you have bars, traditional concert venues, and restaurants as your primary places to perform. But those are often NOT the best listening venues. When you play a restaurant/bar, you are necessarily background noise. Thirty people in attendance and, perhaps, 5 to 10 of them are engaged with the music in any meaningful way.
It’s fine… it is the nature of such gigs. It’s not about you. You make a little pay and get a few tips.
You are rarely exposing your songwriting in such settings.
House concerts are listening events. Even with as few as ten people in attendance, the feedback, the interaction between performer and audience, is much more satisfying.
Plus, when done properly, you earn as much or more than any bar or restaurant gig. Typically, donations fall somewhere between $20 and $40 per attendee, plus some merchandise sales.
Ten people in attendance and you typically earn $250 - $450.
I performed a few times at a friend’s house in Chicago, 30+ people in attendance, and earned more than $1,500.
However, more important than all of that is the true interaction connection between the attendees, the songs, and myself. The money pays for things but true listeners feed the soul!
The how to of house concerts
The short answer: Book a performer. Invite some friends over. Put out some crackers and cheese. Let people bring their own wine or don’t have alcohol at all. Set up a few chairs or bean bags chairs or have people bring their own… whatever works for you.
I help my hosts by creating an event page, write up the language, and otherwise help them promote it. With new hosts, people often try to make it more extravagant than necessary.
I appreciate the effort - in Chicago they had a large tent in their backyard, wine and catered hors d'oeuvres, etc. But I’ve also performed in a house with water bottles on the kitchen table, 5 chairs, and everyone else standing. It was a great evening!
Asking for money is always a sensitive subject. It shouldn’t be but it is. I help the hosts by giving them a way to make the ask short and simple. Typically something like:
Regarding donations. Matthew is grateful just for the opportunity to perform for you. Your donation should be based on your appreciation and enjoyment. We suggest a $20 donation - more if you can, less if you can’t.
When I perform I reiterate the above, tactfully, with some humor, and no pressure. If someone is in a rough financial situation but wants to enjoy some music, I want them there and I want them to keep their money to themselves.
Again, for me, an attentive audience, there to hear music, is the BIG payoff.
This is how the night typically goes:
People arrive and mingle: cheese, crackers, and wine
I perform for 45 minutes or so
Then, we take a break and/or perhaps, I talk about songwriting and answer any questions from attendees.
I finish by performing a short 4 to 6 song set
That’s it! Easy peasy.
If any of this sounds interesting to you, let me know. I have a house concert booking/information form or my website contact page.
You can also get more information from my website’s house concert page.
This got longer than I initially intended. Thanks for staying with me. We’ll call this the end of the newsletter but I’ve embedded the performance videos from last Saturday’s show below.
Thank you again for joining me on this journey.
With Love and Gratitude,
Matthew Moran
Videos from the Community Concert
I’m playing my Gibson J45. Steve is playing his Gibson Hummingbird. It’s like a Gibson Guitar commercial.
We'll definitely have to arrange a house concert before the end of the summer!
Be well,
J