HEATHER BOA Bullet News GODERICH – Debbie Carroll and Bill Menzel know how to set the stage for a good house party.
First, they line up a fantastic mix of local and more widely known musicians. They compile a guest list of about 30 from points across Huron County and beyond who pool donations, contribute a spare CD or previously read book as a door prize and perhaps bring along an appetizer. Then Carroll and Menzel rearrange furniture to fit about 30 people into their living room and set up an area for musicians for a Riverview House Concert.
When the couple retired from Toronto to Goderich in 2010, they brought the idea of house concerts with them. Since then, they’ve had the likes of Eileen McGann, Joël Fafard, John Lemme, Steve Baughman, Jeni and Billy, Valdy, Gavin Davenport, Katherine Wheatley perform for an intimate audience in their living room, overlooking the Maitland River.
Carroll said the concerts are a hit for everyone. Already, the 2012 series is half way to sold out for eight concerts.
For the audience, it’s a chance to hear a wide variety of music from jazz to Celtic to folk and all sorts of genres in between. They can chat with the musicians during break and get CDs autographed. As well, it’s an opportunity to meet new people from the area.
“It’s kind of an ‘anti-cultural’ way of making music. We in this culture are used to being entertained in large venues and on radio [and] internet. This changes the relationship between the performer and the audience. It is live, intimate, small, friendly music-making,” she said.
For the local musicians who open the evening, it’s a chance to play a few acoustic pieces for a small audience.
“It’s amazing, incredible, it’s astonishing to me that we’ve done 10 concerts and I’ve got eight more planned this year and we have all of these amazing opening acts and they’re local and they’re of all ages,” Carroll said.
For professional musicians, it can be a chance to fill in schedule gaps between larger performances. They get to kick back in front of a smaller audience where sometimes sing-a-longs will break out. As well, they enjoy the hospitality Carroll and Menzel offer for the night.
“There are these incredible performers who are coming from everywhere, who want to come to Goderich. They actually nurture the house concert idea,” she said.
The couple have become known in the small house concert community and are regularly approached by musicians who would like to perform at their house.
For Carroll and Menzel, it’s a chance to meet people and host. She was delighted to host Valdy, a hero of hers, and to host musicians she had never met before but have now become friends.
“It’s a beautiful thing,” she said.
This Sunday, local musician David McKee will open for Teresa Doyle from Belfast, Prince Edward Island and October Browne from Toronto in a sold-out concert. Doyle and Brown are both seasoned road warriors, having toured extensively in Canada, the U.S., Europe and Japan. They share strong Irish roots from both sides of the pond: Teresa is a sixth generation Prince Edward Islander; October is London-born Irish. They are both passionate about Celtic music.
To find out more about the concert series, visit their website. http://debbiecarroll.com/houseconcerts/
2 Comments on "House concerts hit a high note for musicians, audience"
Great article heather…we PARTICULARLY like the photograph that went with it!! Cheers, Finola Niamh Mike and Don (SideLiners)
Looks like Sideliners was having fun.