A house concert is quite simply a live music performance in someone's home. You invite your friends over to watch a live show. Each of your friends donates a few bucks for the priviledge. You then get live music in your home. Your friends get a personalized, smoke-free environment to hear great music.

House concerts are a vital part of the folk music scene throughout the United States. A recent book was published about this relatively new phenomenom called House Concerts: A Guide For Musicians And Hosts. I read the article in the NY Times, and it amazed me. There are artists touring the country playing just House Concerts and making a good living doing it.

Hosting a house concert is rewarding and fairly easy to do. Plus, I will help you every step of the way. Who know you may like it and turn into one of those people who hosts house concerts regularly!

Here's How It Works

1. Contact your family and friends in your area. Tell them you are hosting a house concert for the Brobdingnagian Bards.
2. We'll contact a few of our fans in your area.
3. Ask them to donate money for the ticket price.
4. Post some flyers around town and get the word out.
5. Relax in your most comfortable lazy-boy and enjoy live music in your home.

It does require a little bit of work, but imagine two hours of bard music in your own home! You'll get a chance to spend some time with us and get to know us. And if you don't already have a copy of our CD, we'll be happy to give you a couple to help promote the event.

Okay, to be honest, it's not that easy. There is some work in getting started. That's why I'm here to help. We have a huge mailing list, and you'd be surprised how many other Nagians will jump at the opportunity to help you organize a house concert.

If you don't have a fifteen friends, there are other options. Perhaps one of your friends would be willing to host a house concert? Or perhaps they have friends who will bring in fifteen people.

However, I must confess. In order to make a house concert worthwhile, we need to have a minimum of fifteen people at the show. We prefer to have twenty, thirty, or more, but fifteen will suffice.

But remember. We have a BROBDINGNAGIAN mailing list with thousands of fans throughout the nation. So if you can at least get fifteen friends to a performance, we can probably pull in an additional 5-10. Then we're set for one amazing evening!

What others are saying…

Concerns were just typical…will there be enough food, wine, etc…. until party time when the what if no one shows up thing hits… It was pretty much a perfect night though. Lots of friends, good food and music…gods, the music just wonderous. I still can't believe it happened…you were sitting in my living room playing all the stuff I listen too, live! And the jamming! When can you come back? –Val Dodd

It was a wonderful event, and words fail to express the excitement and spirit of the whole evening! The Bards were magnificent in every way, and I urge ANYONE to consider hosting a house concert. People were throwing money at me; I issued ribbons tied to people's wrists as they paid, and I had NO ONE out of over 60 people attending who failed to track me down and pay the gate. It was a great way to kick off out preparations for the 5th year of the Louisiana Renaissance Festival, and I am grateful to Andrew and Marc for making is such a rambunctious and fun event. If you DO want to host a concert, email me and I'll be happy to share details of what made it work. –Jamie/Ghislaine (ghislainederouen ~~AT~~ hotmail.com)

Okay, so how do I get started?

Quite easily. Start by contacting us . We'll figure out where you live and work out the logistics.

One of the big questions is how much to charge. Depending on where you live, this can vary. If we have to cover travel expenses for two, the cover charge for the house concert, might be a bit too much.

However, if we are touring within a couple hundred miles of you or on a weekday, that might be the perfect time to plan such an event. So what's the delay. Talk to us!

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Marc Gunn plays Celtic folk music with the Brobdingnagian Bards. He writes poetry and lyrics, and captures pictures of nature, people, beauty and the mysterious. A hopeless romantic and folk singer/songwriter and breathes new life into traditional Irish and Scottish music, and shares his Celtic folk music, poetry and pictures freely to any who ask. Subscribe to his newsletters for free gifts, including: MP3s, CDs, eBooks, and more. He loves performing at house concerts and has done them from Texas to Italy.