There’s nothing quite like hosting a house concert. Move the couch, rent a few chairs, welcome in some amiable musicians and 20 to 30 of your music-loving friends, and voila! Instant music club! OK, it may not be quite that easy, but my husband and I have had a great time hosting musicians the past few years during the Listening Room Festival as staged by Concerts in Your Home, a nationwide house concert network founded by Tampa Bay’s own Fran Snyder.
Amid the acts taking living room stages around town during this year's fourth annual festival are Sarasota bluegrass band Passerine; Nashville/singer-songwriter Allie Farris; local acoustic axe-wielding favorite Ed Woltil; and Miche Fambro, a singer-songwriter and guitar virtuoso from New York via Philly who played at our home yesterday evening. You can see a few of these artists, plus several others during the Listening Room Finale at the Palladium, which I highly recommend: Not only is the music superb, but the hosts in the audience feel a collective goodwill toward “their” performers, which fills the room with a welcoming vibe.
Details: The Listening Room Festival takes place at homes and intimate performance spaces around the Bay area now through Sunday; the public LRF Finale — which features performances by Passerine, Miche Fambro, Rupert Wates, Craig Werth, Quiles & Cloud, and The Doll Sisters — is Sun., April 26, 6:30-9:30 p.m., at Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg. Tickets are $17.50 general/$50 VIP.
