Hmm. This is all very interesting. Never been to a house concert, don't even know if there are any here in Music City USA. (If anyone knows of any folk societies in Nashville, please do tell. And Conrad, if you're concerned about music being too commercial, then don't ever plan a trip to Nashville because you'll probably get a heart attack. I can say that because I've lived here since I was but a wee lassie. Music City, my arse.)

Anyway --- personally I can't sing if people are smoking. If I take a lungfull of secondary smoke while I'm trying to get a good breath for the next phrase, it just about chokes me. I've done it, yes, but I'd rather not. As for drink, well, pass the Bushmills.

That's interesting what the gentleman said about SOCAN. There was a little flap here a few years ago about how Girl Scout troops might have to pay licensing fees for their singalongs. It went away pretty quickly. But if an artist is performing their own material at a house concert, or all public domain stuff, how can a performing rights organization demand money for that? I don't get it. And are there not some artists who aren't affiliated with anyone?

Performers need to get some compensation for their trouble, even if it's just meals and gas money. I do have a gripe with ASCAP/BMI/SOCAN trying to get all their fingers in everyone's pies. I'm not convinced the artists benefit from all the money they take in. But that's another story for another day.

House concerts sound like a great idea to me. Anyone in the Southeast need some pre-1865 music? :)