House concerts are a great way to host an intimate event for family and friends (between 15 and 30 attendees is a good number) by having the entertainment come to your private location. This creates more of a listening environment in a familiar place with familiar faces, rather than a "block party" event. And for musicians such as myself, it's a welcome change-up from the clubs and bars. It is still very much a live music show. I will take care of the instruments and equipment (just need a few electrical outlets and a space to set up), and you can decide if you want to put out some snacks and drinks, or have everyone bring an ice-chest with their own choice of refreshments, or however you want to do it.
As far as the payment for this goes, it's usually a "pass the hat" situation. So, the host will take a donation from each attendee to pay the artist.
If this sounds like something you would be interested in, send email with the subject "house concert" to:
contact@tommyjoesmith.com