FYI: Home Routes House Concerts!

Welcome to May Monsoon Monday Morning--waiting out the deluge, before I go vote/work/be a contributing member of society.

Here, I'm deviating from usual topics a wee bit, because I'm sooo excited about last week's discovery: Home Routes House Concerts.

I don't have a related pic, so here's an enthusiastic tulip..

Woo!

So, for folksie/bluesy/live music fans, my latest and greatest discovery is the HCHR phenomenon. Basically, some folks who originally set up folk festivals have come up with the idea of developing concert circuits through private homes.

Last week, I saw *Valdy* in a house down the road, with about 40 other guests, who brought potluck appies/BYOB and 20$ each for the performance--which went directly to the artist. So a)it felt like a house party b) it was a house party, with a Juno-award-winning musician leading the charge. So fantastic.

I think Valdy said he'd been wending his way through western Canada for 16 days, with a house concert every night--that's through small and large communites alike, on an established "home route." This is not only a genius development for talented performers, saving the overhead of costly venues/promotions etc., but it is also possibly the best way to enjoy their music (excepting a grassy knoll over a lake on a summer evening..?).

The caliber of participating musicians is the likes of Po' Girl, Lester Quitzau, Bill Bourne and Madagascar Slim--among many others that, even if they're new to me, I'd absolutely trust that I'd enjoy them.

So basically, get on the insider list if you can--google HRHConcerts and find a local contact--I think they're all over Canada and the States (why has it taken me so long to find out about them...).

They are also always looking for new host-homes, so if your house can hold about 30/40 people, you too can be the cool kid on the block. Given that the musical genre is folk-fest/world music, the fanbase tends to be respectful of the space (I don't think anyone's going to start a Rave/Rockstar Route anytime soon.)