house concerts and 21st century touring

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Message from Fran:

It’s officially conference season. For hosts and artists, there are some great opportunities to get together to play, network, and immerse yourself in music for a weekend.

For hosts, these conferences (think music festival inside a hotel) are a fantastic way to scout talent for your series, and to meet, network, and learn from other hosts and concert presenters. For artists, it’s an opportunity to network with serious players, industry people, and yes, house concert hosts. Formal showcases are mostly spoken for at this point, but many of these also offer informal showcases and some fun lobby jamming.

• September 17-19, Nashville, TN - Americana Music Conference
• September 24-27 Austin, TX - SWRFA (Southwest Region Folk Alliance)
• October 8-11 near Chicago, IL - FARM (Folk Alliance Region Midwest)
• October 15-18 Mountain View, AR - SERFA (Southeast Region Folk Alliance)
• November 6-8 Irvine, CA - FAR-West (Folk Alliance Region West)
• *November 12-15 Kerhonkson, NY - NERFA (NorthEast Region Folk Alliance)

Next month I’ll highlight some Canadian Conferences worth attending.
*NERFA offers a 50% discount to first time presenters (i.e. House Concert Hosts attending the conference for the first time.) This is a great deal. Email nerfa@comcast.net to get the discount code.

This month we are upgrading the advanced artist search page, which will make our site a great and EASIER place to discover great performers. We’re finally sorting out the divided genre fields to give more flexibility to artists to describe their art (for search purposes) as they see fit. Flamenco Polka? Political Love Songs? Pagan Mating Ritual Pop? You bet. Give us a few weeks.

We’ve also added 50 recommendations to artist profiles. Member hosts, please keep telling us who you love!

New CIYH Hosts: (artist members can search “member since 2009-07″ using the advanced search. )

23 New House Concert Presenters in BC, QC(2), UK, CA(4), GA, ID, MA, MD(2), MN, MT, NC, NE, NJ, NM(2), PA, SD, VA
We knocked off 2 virgin states in July, which leaves us only 3 left that need a house concert series. Which 3 are missing? (See Trivia Below)

New CIYH Artists: (A big thank you for your support.)

Amanda Duncan, Amanda Williams, Casey MacKenzie, Christopher Dallman, Cory & Ken Tomovick, ena vie, Gary Paul Hermus , Jack Tempchin, Jeni & Billy, Jesse Terry, Joanna Burns, John Wort Hannam, Julie Delaney, Linda Nelson, Matt Urmy, Matthew de Zoete, Pi, Piper Leigh, Ray Mailman, Reid Jamieson, Rich Whiteley, Robin Renee, Ross Moore, Tom Howie, Two Twenty Two, Wendy Beckerman, Yvonne Meek
Which of these artists wrote songs for the Eagles? (Apparently, not enough songwriting talent in that group.)

Look for these new artists here!

Renewed Artists: (A HUGE thank you for your continued support!)

Since I only get to hear about a small percentage of the concerts that get booked, one good measure of whether CIYH is truly helpful for artists is the number of artists who renew their membership each month. Apparently the site is becoming more and more effective as a booking tool. Thanks for letting me know we’re on the right track. This is a new record.

Stephanie Bettman with Luke Halpin (3 yrs), Alex Woodard, Karyn Oliver, Cole Mitchell, Sharon Bousquet/ Beaucoup Shakti, Bat McGrath, Lonnie Knight, Marc Black, Terry Garland, Peter Lang, Sweet Wednesday, Gove Scrivner, Richard Thorne, Jenn Grinels, Patrick Ball, Michael Amoriello, Jeff Larson, Vicki Genfan, Annie Moscow, Richard Gilewitz, Son Lewis, Jason Luckett, Christine Havrilla, Jacob Moon, Clare Cooper, Jeni and Billy
Which of these artists has written Fingerstyle Guitar books for Mel Bay?

Agencies:

Laura Thomas of Combo Plate Booking renewed her CIYH membership for the fine roster of artists she represents. (Matt the Electrician, Ana Egge, Nels Andrews, etc.)

Schwag of the Month:

Trivia Question: Answer the 3 highlighted questions in this newsletter to win a free CIYH Welcome Kit - 1 shirt, 2 CDs, 10 postcards, and 2 bumper/case stickers. Email your answers. First to get all three correct gets the prize.

Tips for Artists and Hosts:

• A fun way to engage your audience.
• A fun mailing list form to build your audience.
• Artists: Learn to do this, at least a couple of times a night. A great story, a great song, and heartfelt, technically brilliant execution.

Letters from Ned:

Liberals, Sound Systems, and Peggy Seeger

Artists log in here | Hosts Log in here

Please share this information with people you like. — fran

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Brooks Williams, recorded 08-05-2009 at a house concert in metro-Atlanta.
No reproduction, distribution, or commercial use w/o written agreement. Please don’t embed unless all links and credits are included with the video.
http://www.BrooksWilliams.com
http://www.myspace.com/RedGuitarBlueMusic
http://www.myspace.com/Atlanta_Roots_Music
http://www.myspace.com/ellens_eyes

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Next week I’ll be announcing our (CIYH) conference plans for this fall. These are scattered around the country and provide a great opportunity for artists and house concert hosts to network, discover music, and rejuvenate the soul.

Here’s an example of what happens in the hotel rooms at the conferences. You can literally walk in, sit on the bed, and listen. It’s so lovely.

Here’s a list of your options. (Each region has it’s own conference.)

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