house concerts and 21st century touring

One of the biggest pet peeves for artists who love to play house concerts, is the lack of opportunity on weeknights. That’s why one year ago we created DinnerAndSong, a smaller and shorter format that can fit into most people’s busy weekday schedules. If you can attend a book club, or a soccer practice, you can host a DinnerAndSong.

A few hundred people have agreed!
Click the map to make it interactive…

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A lot of artists have discovered CouchSurfing.com as a great way to connect with new people when traveling. Furthermore, it’s become evident that some hosts in the CS community are open to the idea of gathering some friends together for a performance… and many artists have been pitching the house concert idea with some success.

Due to the easier specs for doing a DinnerAndSong or DessertAndSong (shorter concert, fewer people) we believe this is an even better tool for inspiring new people to host, especially in areas where homes are smaller than what we may be used to.

So we’re now making a page available at ConcertsInYourHome to educate and inspire any CouchSurfing members to get involved. Share and enjoy!

http://www.concertsinyourhome.com/couchsurfinghcguide.html

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DNS Redefined by Popular Request

Uncle! After a year of feedback it is clear that most of our community LOVES the concept of DNS (DinnerAndSong and DessertAndSong) but have very little affection for the details as we’ve presented them. So we’re changing the format.

The biggest objection? Time. Most of you have told us that 35 minutes just isn’t enough time for the performance, and an uncomfortable cut-off for even the simplest of dinners.

In order to reduce the chance of misunderstandings, it’s important that we redefine the program in such a way that more people adopt it as described. Otherwise, our videos and templates won’t be useful for you, and we’ll certainly see disappointed artists, hosts, and guests when they don’t get what they were expecting.

Here is how we’ll describe DNS events from now on.

• DinnerAndSong - host provides simple dinner for guests and artist, followed by a 40-45 minute performance. 8-10 guests on a weeknight is ideal.
• DessertAndSong - host provides desserts for guests, followed by a 40-45 minute performance. 10-20 guests on a weeknight is ideal.

YOU decide how long to allow for dinner or dessert, but the total event time should be less than 90 minutes for guests, and 2 hours for the host. We still want this to be quick and easy when compared with a regular house concert.

If the artist does more than one set… you are doing a house concert, regardless of whether you provide food or not. All DNS events feature one set of music.

The money - we believe that the suggested donation of $10-15 should hold, because the guests are not asked to bring anything, and are getting a more personal experience that includes dinner with the artist - that’s better than a backstage pass.

Looking forward to your comments.

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