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Why a house concert?
I could probably set up a performance at a venue local to you, but that would likely result in one of 3 scenarios:
They’d want me to do 3 hours of cover songs. I wouldn’t get to play much, if any, of my own music, and they probably wouldn’t pay me enough to cover all my costs.
They’d want to charge me for the use of the venue (and I’d almost certainly lose money.) Or…
They’d require me to sell X number of tickets in advance, which probably wouldn’t happen, especially since I’m not local to the area and don’t have a traveling, rabid fanbase. The show would end up cancelled, and me and everyone who wanted me to perform there would end up disappointed at best.
If I arrange a house concert, though, I’m at least guaranteed that the venue is interested and invested in what I do, the music I make, and that’s HUGE. Also, it avoids the cold call/cold contact, scattershot approach to getting booked at or arranging a performance venue.
Does it have to be in my living room? Or even indoors?
Nope! It doesn’t even have to be at your house if you can find a venue that’ll host. Maybe your friend has an incredible space in their home they’re willing to offer up. Sometimes bars or venues have private rooms* they’ll let you put a show in, provided that they’ll get the chance to sell refreshments. Sometimes a local library, park, or community center has a performance space they’ll let you schedule. Sometimes you’ve got a killer backyard or porch or pole barn or whatever. Or maybe you’re simply comfortable with finding a performance venue-for-hire you’d like me to play in and covering the cost of it yourself.
If the show is scheduled to be outdoors, though, a weather contingency has to be in place, because weather rarely cares about the plans of mere mortals.
*Private rooms are almost a requirement if playing at a bar or public venue. The vibe at a house concert should be that of a concert, not of a party. At a bar, other patrons, who could care less about what’s going on, will talk. Loudly. Loud enough to be heard over the music, and we don’t want that. It’s just not the atmosphere a concert needs.
How does it work?
Someone agrees to host me to make music at their home (or other venue, as described above.) That person is generally in charge of making all the arrangements, advertisements, etc (though I will, of course, do my best to advertise it as well, should the host want that—and some don’t. Some want to be very particular about who attends, and that’s cool, too.)
There would be a ticket price or suggested donation in order to attend, to help cover my costs.
Here are a couple of links, one to a pretty good guide to putting on house concerts and another to some tips from folks who have hosted many house concerts (though you can and should do all the other research you need to feel comfortable doing something like this):
https://www.musicindustryhowto.com/how-to-put-on-a-house-concert-and-host-them-successfully-a-guide-for-musicians/
https://stangarfield.medium.com/tips-for-hosting-house-concerts-43e18062921a
What does Mikey need to get out of this to make it work?
Well… To make it work, ultimately, such a trip/performance/tour would have to pay for itself. I need to make enough money to cover gas and any expenses occurred (food, lodging, etc…) In a perfect world, I’d turn a sizable profit and sell completely out of merchandise and make hundreds or thousands of new fans, each eager to attend my shows at conventions and listen to all the new music I put out, but realistically, probably I’ll gain some new fans here and there, cover my expenses (I hope,) and have a great time playing intimate shows for people who love what I do, seeing old friends, meeting new friends, and then hanging out afterwards. I miss being on the road, but I can’t lose money in order to do it.
What kind of show would you get?
I can do my regular, convention style show, a mix of old favorites and new songs.
I can do a mostly or entirely gaming-centric style show, focusing on role-playing games.
I can do a Firefly-themed show, either focusing on my more comedic Browncoat tunes with a few songs from Shades of Gray thrown in, or simply a show of the songs from Shades of Gray.
I can do an entire show of my serious songs, leaving out most (or all) of the comedic stuff.
I can do a set of songs that I wrote for The Varlots, my renfaire pirate act.
I can do an entire show of songs that have yet to be released to anyone but my Patreon patrons (there are over 60 of these as I type this—at least 3 hours worth of songs for me to choose from…)
I can do a weird blend of any and/or all of these…
Or you can give me a sizable donation to pick my setlist… (the amount is negotiable, but I want you to know that I’m open to bribery. You should be aware that there are songs I just don’t play anymore, though. You can find those listed at the top of my request list.)
When would we do this thing?
We’d have to work that out. If you’re close to where I live, there’s much less to coordinate, and much less cost/risk involved. The farther away you are from Muncie, IN, the more necessary it is for me to line up a series of shows there and/or back, in order to make the trip at least break even. But I’m willing to try. I’ve driven across this country and back, multiple times, and I’m absolutely okay with doing it again.