I ran about 112 house concerts in the South suburbs of Chicago, all at the same house. While booking local acts is good and even necessary, you'll be surprised what level of professionals will be open to doing this sort of show. And once you get one or two, you can name-drop to get others.

Generally I decided who I wanted, went online to check their performance schedule, then homed in on people who were, say, playing Chicago on Saturday and Baltimore on the following Thursday. I'd contact them and suggest that making some money is better than making no money, and talk them into a Sunday gig, as long as they were in the area anyway. Didn't always work, of course, but I booked the likes of Roberts & Barrand, Tommy Sands, Andrew Calhoun, Kat Eggleston, Robbie O'Connell, Judy Cook, Bryan Bowers, Anne Hills, Andy M. Stewart and Mudcat's own Seamus Kennedy and Art Thieme, among others. North Americans might also recognize James Keelaghan, The Arrogant Worms, The Sons of the Never Wrong and Small Potatoes, all of whom played there.

One selling point is that we took no cut for expenses. Everything went to the performer. But we encouraged audience members to bring some food or drink to share, and most of them did. The typical audience was 20-25 people, but the full range went from about 15 to 45. Give it a try!