All About House Concerts
by Brittany Ann Tranbaugh 11/21/23


Hey there,

Last week I played a house concert in Charleston SC after my two week artist residency in nearby Summerville. It was a magical night. My friends David and Christine had never hosted a house concert before, but they absolutely knocked it out of the park. They invited a bunch of their friends via email, and 30 attentive and friendly people showed up on a Monday night to support live independent music. Each attendee contributed around $20. David played a short opening set and we did a song together (he's an old friend from my Asheville days and it was so sweet to sing together again), then I played for about 50 mins, folks lingered for a bit to converse over wine and snacks, and everyone was out by 10 pm. I made over $500 playing this show, which covered the cost of my artist residency, and is WAY more money than I'd make playing for 30 people at any ticketed venue or bar (Did you know that most venues have a room fee, which is typically anywhere from $100 to $600 that must be recouped from ticket sales before artists make a single dollar? Plus a lot of venues nowadays are asking for a 20% merch cut!). At the end of the night, I was nearly moved to tears. This single gig made such a huge difference for me financially, and I felt truly connected to the audience.

The house show at David and Christine's place was a huge lightbulb moment for me, as I'm currently mapping out what I want this next year to look like. I want it to be sustainable, both financially and mental health-wise. House concerts feel like a big part of the solution for me personally. So I am asking you, dear reader…wanna host a house concert sometime?

If you're thinking I’m interested, but I’ve never hosted a house show before…what do I need to do? read on!

  • Do you think you’ll be able to host at least 20 folks in your space who would be willing to donate $20 each for an intimate and special live music experience? If so, you're an excellent candidate.
  • The first step is we’ll hop on the phone to discuss the date and time, and I’ll answer any questions you have. This is surprisingly easy and chill. Trust me.
  • You’ll send out invites to friends and family via text or email a few weeks in advance.
  • On the day of the show, you’ll prepare your space and seating for guests. If it’s a small room we won’t need a sound system. If you’d like to host something outdoors or in a big space, I can bring a small sound system with me.
  • If you’d like to provide snacks and drinks, that’s a nice touch, or you could have guests BYO.
  • We’ll pass around a basket for cash donations. I’ll bring QR code signs for Venmo and PayPal.
  • The final and most important step: you get to enjoy a lovely evening with me and your buds, and the satisfaction of financially sustaining my music career.

If you're thinking I want you to come play at my house/business/event etc. but I don't want to ask my friends to pay. Can I just pay you myself?  the answer is yes! I am happy to play private events. Fees are based on what iteration you'd like (solo, duo, trio, or full band), how far we'd have to travel, and whether we need to bring our own backline (like amps, drum kit, etc.) and sound system.

Reach out to me at brittanyannmusic at gmail dot com and let's make cool stuff happen together!

xoxo b

p.s. Can't host a house concert but want to support my career in a super sustaining and meaningful way? Check out my Patreon community!