It sounds like an ideal night at home and it is — it’s just not at your house.
It’s in someone else’s living room and it’s called a house concert.
Music industry volunteer and music lover Debbie Mullins says she became familiar with the concept from her son Keith Mullins, a performer who has participated in many such concerts across the country. Mullins admits at first, she found the whole idea amazing.
It sounds like an ideal night at home and it is — it’s just not at your house.
It’s in someone else’s living room and it’s called a house concert.
Music industry volunteer and music lover Debbie Mullins says she became familiar with the concept from her son Keith Mullins, a performer who has participated in many such concerts across the country. Mullins admits at first, she found the whole idea amazing.
“I think I said to Keith, ‘You mean I can have anyone in my living room?’”
Although she hasn’t held one of the events in about five years, Mullins describes it as an enjoyable experience and says she’s not surprised by its growing popularity.
“I just found it to be a wonderful experience,” she said.
House concerts have been around for a long time, dating back to when royalty and the wealthy would invite the finest classical musicians into their mansions and palaces to play music for a few dozen aristocrats they needed to impress.
Today’s offerings tend to be more down to earth.
These aren’t offered in concert halls or bars, and don’t expect to learn about it from mainstream advertising. Anyone who has a room big enough to seat 10 to 100 of their guests, who are usually friends or maybe those who appreciate music that may not be normally offered in your average concert hall, can run one of these events today.
The event may simply be promoted through an invitation on social media. And while classical music is still offered, the genre is just as likely to be folk, Celtic, alternative, jazz or blues.
Today there are circuits that musicians can participate in, leading to tours across a country, performing in homes.
Singer-songwriter Cyril MacPhee remembers participating in a house concert with another musician in Ontario several years ago. They reached the home after spending the night on the road in a blizzard and were admittedly exhausted by the time they reached the house. They needn’t have worried. The place was packed and they were among friends.
“Nine times out of 10, the people know your music,” said MacPhee. “They’re super-nice people and when you sing, they sing along with you. They give you energy.”
Shannon Forrester, who runs the Forrester Dance School in Sydney, decided to create her own version.
“It’s something for myself — I’m a bit of a homebody,” said Forrester, who has held several events so far and will be holding her next one Saturday with such artists as Leanne Aucoin, Kolten MacDonell, Jesse Lewis, Danielle MacDonald and dancer Elizabeth Dieltgens.
“I love to entertain and I love being close to home, so why not open up my home to host events? Not everyone wants to go to a bar or a larger venue to see a show,” she said.
“I guess I thought why not create a space because I have it in my home with wonderful acoustics with high ceilings and turn it into a venue for people like myself who want something a little different.”
Forrester’s events, which can seat up to 40 people, emphasize local musicians and, of course, dancers, which she believes add a whole other element to the experience.
“Dancers in a lot of cases bring so much to a show but they don’t always have the opportunity to be featured. And audience members really need to see the visual art as well.”
Forrester doesn’t stop there. She also hires a chef and a photographer to create an all-encompassing experience.
“I hire a professional photographer for every show and I have a foodie who creates the most incredible food, so we’re taking a very soulful, human experience that I would say tantalizes and engages all five of our senses and blends it all together,” she said.
“I like to think of it as more than just an in-house concert in my living room but as a complete intimate experience. And that’s a very key thing because they’re all different in their own way and people can just come in and become engaged with each other.”
While Forrester promotes local musicians, dancers, chefs and photographers, others may put a house concert together when touring musicians are passing through the area.
World-renowned balafon player Lassana Diabate from Mali was recently in Cape Breton for events at Cape Breton University, and Connie Bowers of A Paradise Found Bed and Breakfast on Milton Street in Sydney was asked if she would mind hosting a house concert featuring the musician.
“We enjoyed it — it was not stressful for us. It was the first one we ever did,” said Bowers.
“We had 20 (people) there — could have had 30 comfortably — we worried how many people would come. We had a few snacks with it. People paid when they got here.”
All the money raised went toward Diabate and his expenses, although this may not be always the case.
In some instances, depending on the expenses surrounding the events, some concerts feature strict admission fees while others rely on participants passing the hat to ante up whatever they want to give. Sometimes they’re well publicized and open to just about anyone interested, while others maintain a very tight, closed-door policy, admitting only their closest friends.