House Concert

Have you ever heard about a house concert?

I hadn't until my niece Ally went to one.  It sounded phenomenal; absolutely an evening I would love.

It is an old tradition that is breathing new life into the music scene.  In past centuries, music was played in people's houses or salons.  Prior to recorded music, most people only heard music played in someone's home and often a member of the family played an instrument.  It was only during the time of Beethoven that halls were specifically built for musical performances.

We probably all have had the experience of listening to high school rock band (or punk, am I dating myself here?) playing in someone's basement or going to a kitchen party if you're Irish.  Here's one on Youtube...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1j6ETXwvK4

House concerts are held by people who love live music and are willing to use a space in their home for musical performances.  These are professional musicians often playing their own compositions acoustically in a very intimate setting.  Mostly these events are not advertised, except by word of mouth, underground e-mail list kind of thing.  If you ever get the chance, I urge you to go!  There is usually some kind of a "donation" system that pays the artists.  

On Friday night, I attended a concert that was a potluck, BYOB event.  The hosts, Rob and Annie had their living room transformed into a music hall with a stage, sound system, lighting and stadium seating.  I kid you not.  There was a lot of carpentry work that went on so everyone got an amazing view.  The food was fabulous and the artists were amazing.  It is so cool to get to know the singer/songwriter and to hear the stories about writing every song.  I didn't take pictures as I was a first time guest (a music hall virgin, I was told) and didn't want to be rude.  I definitely wanted to be invited back!

Going to something like this, out of my comfort zone and spending time with people I have never met before was a great experience.  Even though it may seem small, to me it was an adventure.  Everyone was friendly, the hosts were so welcoming, their house is gorgeous and the musicians were great.  I walked out of there like I was lifted up by clouds of pure joy.  Listening to music, stripped down to the essentials was absolutely the best.

Faye Blais

JD Edwards

Rob films the concert and posts some videos on Youtube.  Ones from the concert I attended aren't done yet but I've added a couple of links here so you can get an idea.  I'll add ones of Faye and Trish and JD when they are on-line.  Enjoy....(highlight link and right click and choose go to)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnxdDZUuybY&index=26&list=UUxINyqTZTCPVFf8QB9ymb4g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipuyP3RxIX4&list=UUxINyqTZTCPVFf8QB9ymb4g&index=2

Videos of Faye

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhPixKQV99Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYsAUA8gBB8

Julie