” When you’ re at a house concert, probably the best part of it is the personal interaction, the intimacy, and the attention. You don’ t need amplification when the audience is there to listen.”
— Kenan Rainwater
Robbie Bowden and Frank Jones playing at Russell’ s Roost. photo by Marc Skirvin
Performers love house concerts because the focus is on the music. Thompson said they are the antidote for musicians seen as“ wallpaper”— getting stuck over in a corner to compete with pool tables or a televised ball game.
“ One of the things we stress is, we’ re here to watch the band,” Hondo said.“ We’ re here to create an audience, not to use these guys as background music.”
Brown County singer-songwriter Frank Jones said the
house concert is also a great outlet for people who don’ t normally play out, and provides a different, more attentive, audience.
“ On the one hand, you have the partying bar scene, and they listen to you if you play something that’ s familiar or that they happen to like,” he said.“ The other is an actual listening room setup that is so much more conducive to people being able to go out and play whatever they want. And it’ s always a polite audience.”
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Kenan Rainwater live streaming at his home studio in Brown County. courtesy photo
Jan./ Feb. 2019 • Our Brown County 35