4 tips on how to host a house concert

Want to host a house concert?

Fred and Sharon Munroe, who run the monthly Música del Río house concert series in Atascadero, have some tips for music lovers interested in turning their living rooms into performance venues.

Do your research

Before you welcome hordes of music lovers into your home, spend some time investigating the subject.

Attend as many house concerts as possible, and chat with concertgoers, organizers and performers.

Find your audience

Keep track of potential concertgoers. The Munroes maintain an email list of Música del Río audience members and invite folks to attend shows using a Web-based list management system.

Narrow your focus

Although your personal tastes in music may range from reggae to heavy metal, stick with a specific genre or style for your house concert series.

“You can’t have a rock band one month and a singer-songwriter the next month,” Sharon Munroe said. “You want to create a niche that’s going to bring you an audience and quality musicians time after time.”

Make your own home concert ready

Is your living room large and spacious? Is your furniture light and easy to move? Do you have an easy-to-access place to store professional-quality sound and lighting equipment?

You’ll need a stress-free setup that allows you to get ready for a concert in a couple of hours.

Among the Munroes’ tips: Leather sofas are easy to tip on their sides and slide across a carpeted floor.

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 4:31 PM with the headline "4 tips on how to host a house concert."