House concerts showcase traveling musicians
By Jean Tennant, Journal correspondent | Posted: Monday, April 07, 2008
Martin Arthur of Spencer, Iowa, arranges chairs in his living room in preparation for a House Concert. (Photo by Jean Tennant)
On a recent Saturday evening, a crowd of approximately 100 people gathered at Martin Arthur's three-story house in Spencer, Iowa, for what is known in the music industry as a "house concert."
Filling the spacious front rooms, the people at this particular event were there for the performance of Chad Elliott, a popular local folk singer.
Arthur said the house concerts that have become a regular event in his home started almost by accident.
"My first, in 2004, was not really an official one," says Arthur. "I knew Chad from Arts on Grand, and also from the Community Theater. We'd just done 'Music Man' and I was having the cast party at my house after the last show. That's when someone said 'oh, this would be a great place for a house concert.' And then Chad said he'd like to have a concert here."
"In the folk community a house concert is a popular way to have an intimate environment where people feel comfortable and where they can hear music and get the stories behind the songs," says Elliott, who was instrumental in helping Arthur arrange his first such gathering
"A lot of times in coffee houses, folk musicians and artists are playing over machines and peoples' conversations. You don't have that problem when you're in someone's home."
The first house concert was an informal affair, with Elliott setting up a stool in a corner of Arthur's living room.
"It went over well, except we didn't really know what we were doing," says Arthur.
Elliott moved to Texas shortly after that first concert, but when he came back a year later, in the fall of 2005, he asked Arthur if he would host another concert.
But this time, Elliott wanted it to be for a friend of his, musician Justin Roth from Minneapolis. Arthur agreed and Roth was soon in touch.
"Justin knew more about the structure of a house concert," says Arthur. "He told me I had to have it set up with chairs for seating and a stage area for the performer. He also told us we had to request at least a $10 suggested donation for the artist. I thought he was kind of pushy about it, but he was insistent."
Once a date had been set, information for the house concert was posted on Roth's Web site. Almost immediately, a musician from Topeka, Kan., contacted Arthur.
"He asked if he could give my name out to other performers so they could contact me about my house concert series," says Arthur. "I told him, 'well, it's not a series yet, but yeah, you can do that.' And that same day I got four or five e-mails and phone calls from people wanting to perform here. I had to tell them to wait until we see how this next one goes."
The structure Roth had provided proved to be a good move. That next concert went even better than the first, and, with the formalized seating arrangement, the audience was more attentive to the performance. Since then, Arthur has hosted more than a dozen such events, with various artists, all at his own expense.
As a self-employed technical writer, Arthur works out of his home office. This may make it easier for him to arrange the concerts around his own work schedule, but the preparations still take great deal of his time.
Besides hosting the concerts, Arthur also provides free lodging for the traveling performers as well as advertising. He prepares a press release and also sends out e-mail announcements to people on a long mailing list.
Arthur even sets up a table in a side room of his house for coffee and snacks. In his e-mail announcements, he lets people know they are welcome to bring snacks as well, and the table is always overflowing with a variety of foods for all.
Donations of $10 to $15 are placed in a jar inside the front door. All proceeds go to the artists. Arthur takes nothing for himself.
Upcoming house concerts are listed at www.concertsinyourhome.com. Last year, Arthur hosted nearly a dozen, highlighting such diverse performers as the Boulder Acoustic Society which included five members and their instruments. As usual, Arthur made room for all of them in his home.
Other performers have come from as far away as Toronto, Canada, Texas and Massachusetts. Often the musicians arrange to stop in Spencer on their way to or from performances in Omaha or Des Moines.
The concerts seem to have a universal appeal. "The people who come here range from age 16 to 87," says Arthur. "We have many people who come to virtually every one. There are a lot of familiar faces, but there are always some new faces as well."
One loyal attendee is Joanne Schar of Spencer. She's rarely missed a house concert and appreciates Elliott's music in particular.
"I was probably one of Chad's first groupies, way back when he was playing at Arts on Grand," Schar says. "I like his music and I like the atmosphere in Martin's house. It's a warm and friendly atmosphere. This is such a wonderful way for people to hear music that they might otherwise not know about."
Arthur already has several more concerts scheduled over the next few months. Musicians contact him almost daily, and he says he could, if he wanted, hold a concert every day. He tries to limit himself to one or two a month.
Asked why he goes through all the trouble of holding these events at his own expense, Arthur laughs and says, "Insanity."
There's more to it than that. "I like to give something back to the community," he adds. "I'm active in the arts and this is a way to bring these musicians and their music to Spencer. It makes me feel good to do this."
Filling the spacious front rooms, the people at this particular event were there for the performance of Chad Elliott, a popular local folk singer.
Arthur said the house concerts that have become a regular event in his home started almost by accident.
"My first, in 2004, was not really an official one," says Arthur. "I knew Chad from Arts on Grand, and also from the Community Theater. We'd just done 'Music Man' and I was having the cast party at my house after the last show. That's when someone said 'oh, this would be a great place for a house concert.' And then Chad said he'd like to have a concert here."
"In the folk community a house concert is a popular way to have an intimate environment where people feel comfortable and where they can hear music and get the stories behind the songs," says Elliott, who was instrumental in helping Arthur arrange his first such gathering
"A lot of times in coffee houses, folk musicians and artists are playing over machines and peoples' conversations. You don't have that problem when you're in someone's home."
The first house concert was an informal affair, with Elliott setting up a stool in a corner of Arthur's living room.
"It went over well, except we didn't really know what we were doing," says Arthur.
Elliott moved to Texas shortly after that first concert, but when he came back a year later, in the fall of 2005, he asked Arthur if he would host another concert.
But this time, Elliott wanted it to be for a friend of his, musician Justin Roth from Minneapolis. Arthur agreed and Roth was soon in touch.
"Justin knew more about the structure of a house concert," says Arthur. "He told me I had to have it set up with chairs for seating and a stage area for the performer. He also told us we had to request at least a $10 suggested donation for the artist. I thought he was kind of pushy about it, but he was insistent."
Once a date had been set, information for the house concert was posted on Roth's Web site. Almost immediately, a musician from Topeka, Kan., contacted Arthur.
"He asked if he could give my name out to other performers so they could contact me about my house concert series," says Arthur. "I told him, 'well, it's not a series yet, but yeah, you can do that.' And that same day I got four or five e-mails and phone calls from people wanting to perform here. I had to tell them to wait until we see how this next one goes."
The structure Roth had provided proved to be a good move. That next concert went even better than the first, and, with the formalized seating arrangement, the audience was more attentive to the performance. Since then, Arthur has hosted more than a dozen such events, with various artists, all at his own expense.
As a self-employed technical writer, Arthur works out of his home office. This may make it easier for him to arrange the concerts around his own work schedule, but the preparations still take great deal of his time.
Besides hosting the concerts, Arthur also provides free lodging for the traveling performers as well as advertising. He prepares a press release and also sends out e-mail announcements to people on a long mailing list.
Arthur even sets up a table in a side room of his house for coffee and snacks. In his e-mail announcements, he lets people know they are welcome to bring snacks as well, and the table is always overflowing with a variety of foods for all.
Donations of $10 to $15 are placed in a jar inside the front door. All proceeds go to the artists. Arthur takes nothing for himself.
Upcoming house concerts are listed at www.concertsinyourhome.com. Last year, Arthur hosted nearly a dozen, highlighting such diverse performers as the Boulder Acoustic Society which included five members and their instruments. As usual, Arthur made room for all of them in his home.
Other performers have come from as far away as Toronto, Canada, Texas and Massachusetts. Often the musicians arrange to stop in Spencer on their way to or from performances in Omaha or Des Moines.
The concerts seem to have a universal appeal. "The people who come here range from age 16 to 87," says Arthur. "We have many people who come to virtually every one. There are a lot of familiar faces, but there are always some new faces as well."
One loyal attendee is Joanne Schar of Spencer. She's rarely missed a house concert and appreciates Elliott's music in particular.
"I was probably one of Chad's first groupies, way back when he was playing at Arts on Grand," Schar says. "I like his music and I like the atmosphere in Martin's house. It's a warm and friendly atmosphere. This is such a wonderful way for people to hear music that they might otherwise not know about."
Arthur already has several more concerts scheduled over the next few months. Musicians contact him almost daily, and he says he could, if he wanted, hold a concert every day. He tries to limit himself to one or two a month.
Asked why he goes through all the trouble of holding these events at his own expense, Arthur laughs and says, "Insanity."
There's more to it than that. "I like to give something back to the community," he adds. "I'm active in the arts and this is a way to bring these musicians and their music to Spencer. It makes me feel good to do this."
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
