Danielle Howle’s longtime bassist extraordinaire Kerry Brooks joins his childhood friend Jay Byrd on his set at the GrahamJamMusic Live house concert.
For many music fans, the idea of attending a concert conjures up the vision of a star-studded performance in an arena, music hall, or other large venue with hundreds of fans, jumbotron screens, long bathroom lines, and sophisticated audiovisual effects.
While large concert settings deliver a unique kind of entertainment experience, music lovers can also find great joy from more intimate performances in the comfort of someone’s home. Known as “house concerts,” these small-scale performances not only showcase local musical talent but also offer musicians the chance to share their original compositions instead of the well-known cover songs often expected in larger public venues.
The idea of house concerts goes back generations to Appalachian traditions. A performer en route between gigs may have had an open night to play at a host’s home along the way in exchange for a good meal and place to lay his head. The host would charge a small ticket price with all proceeds going to the performer.
Logistics of a house concert can be as varied as the homes where they take place. In the modern version of the old-time Appalachian tradition, guests typically pay a small ticket fee that goes 100 percent to the performer. Some musicians have sophisticated websites where guests can purchase tickets in advance with a credit card. Others prefer just to collect cash donations from guests at the door. Hosts often encourage guests to bring a potluck item to share, their own adult beverages, and sometimes a folding chair or blanket if the performance is outdoors.
Danielle Howle is a Charleston-based musician with roots in the Midlands. Her music career launched in the early ’90s in Columbia as “Danielle Howle and the Tantrums” playing in local venues. Danielle’s high energy, distinctive vocals, and songwriting talent have led her to share shows with greats like the Indigo Girls and Mark Bryan and to open for legends like Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Sam Bush, and The Avett Brothers.
But it’s the smaller, more intimate venue in a host’s home that makes Danielle feel her music is best experienced. “In the big concert venues, I’m usually included as an opener,” Danielle says, “but I find house concerts to be a more intentional and inviting setting playing for people who are willing to take a chance on original music with which they may not be familiar.”
Logistics of playing a house concert can sometimes be tricky since homes aren’t typically set up with easy access to multiple electrical outlets or lighting that performers are accustomed to in a professional venue.
Allen Graham has been hosting house concerts monthly in his Irmo-area home since last fall. He has been playing music since 1994 when he started with friends in a high school garage band. Professionally, Allen is a sound engineer with many years of experience working at the Newberry Opera House and WIS-TV. The idea of hosting house concerts to spotlight local talent and their original music appealed to Allen because he enjoys supporting local musicians and knew he could create a quality, yet intimate, listening experience to showcase local talent.
“My house is one of those types of homes where the kitchen and living room are one big room,” Allen says. From his work as a sound engineer, Allen knew the high ceilings in his living room would be a good acoustical fit for this intimate musical experience. “I can fit 20 to 25 people in my living room. Coming from a theater background, I have knowledge of lighting and other equipment to facilitate the creation of an intimate theatrical setting.”
But typically at a house concert, the sound and lighting setups fall to the musician to arrange. After doing house concerts in a wide variety of setups in hosts’ homes, Danielle has learned the logistical questions she needs to ask in advance about power sources and, very importantly, rain plans if the show is to be outside.
“I went to one person’s home where they had an actual stage in their backyard, but it turned out to be really soggy after not being used in a while,” Danielle says. “We just put a rug on it, and no one noticed.”
Danielle remembers arriving at one host’s home where the power had gone out. Yet another time, rain unexpectedly started just before “curtain” time. Danielle, her bass player, the hosts, and several of their friends quickly moved all the equipment inside to the dining room, broke down the host’s dining room table, hauled in extra lawn chairs, and the concert started just a little late.
Jack McGregor and his wife, Debbie Daniel, have performed at house concerts, hosted them, and attended many over the years. Debbie and Jack are both talented vocalists, and he also plays guitar, bass, and mandolin. While they have long been part of the Columbia music scene, performing in several bands over the past 20 years in venues such as Tombo Grille and Foxfields, Jack believes the intimacy of a house concert just can’t be beat.
As a songwriter, Jack knows firsthand the angst of getting a song just right, then experiencing the rush of playing it for a crowd that really listens and appreciates it. That kind of attentiveness is far more likely at a house concert than at a public venue.
“It is a rare crowd indeed where people are there listening to your craft, intent on your lyrics,” Jack says. “You’ll agonize over the writing in a particular verse, then you hit that line when performing the song, and faces just light up. That’s not going to happen in a bar. But that will happen at a house concert.”
During COVID, the idea of a house concert became more of a porch concert for Jack and Debbie at their Rosewood neighborhood home. They frequently converted their front porch into a stage and performed at an appropriate social distance for their neighbors.
“We asked around to find out what our neighbors wanted to hear,” Jack says. “We ended up playing Wheels on the Bus for some of the kids. Others asked for Hank Williams and Pink Floyd. At that point, all of our gigs were cancelled. We were just excited to be playing and to have an audience. It was just about a shared love of music.”
The informality of a house concert also allows musicians to be spontaneous in showcasing other performers in their show. Danielle frequently includes her touring partners in her house concert performances.
At one Columbia house concert, Danielle brought along a friend to play mandolin with her on several songs. What she didn’t tell the host was that her friend was Mark Bryan of Hootie and the Blowfish fame. “That sure was a nice surprise for my friend hosting the concert,” Danielle says.
House concerts are often hosted by invitation only to keep the crowd small and intimate. Sometimes hosts are responsible for filling the seats through their own contacts, while other times the performer will use their own network of fans to issue invitations.
Allen likes to fill his home with people who share his love of local music and original songwriting. “I can transport people into a little magic space for however long the show is. Musicians work hard, and people in the audience work hard.”
Allen especially likes the idea of offering up an informal and intimate space where local music and original songwriting are the focus.
“We are so used to the idea of going to a bar and listening to a band play cover songs for three hours,” Allen says. “The band might throw in a few originals, but people are there to hear covers. My idea is to reverse that with bands playing only original music at my house concerts.”
This idea is what draws local songwriting and vocal talent to Allen’s living room. Sometimes Allen knows the musicians personally, and sometimes they are friends of friends. Danielle played at Allen’s house in August with her old friend Don Merckle, who connected her with Allen. Joining them was Danielle’s frequent touring partner, DC-based songwriter and guitarist Jay Byrd.
“I told Don I had a hole in my tour coming up,” Danielle says. “We knew we wanted to play together after we had to cancel a show several years back because of COVID. Don knew Allen and made the connection for us to play at his house. So, this was like our COVID reunion show.”
Columbia musicians Kelly Porterfield and her husband, Brody, performed a house concert at Allen’s home in April. The duo typically performs throughout North and South Carolina as the Water Kickers at venues that include breweries, coffeehouses, and small event spaces. But it’s house concerts that make Kelly feel the most connected to the people in the audience.
“House concerts are really all about the audience and their interest in the music,” Kelly says. “As a performer, I find it most uplifting to know people are actually listening. Being in someone’s home is about as intimate as you can get. It’s really the best environment for storytelling and often opens up conversation with the people in the room. And that’s what music is really all about.”
