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Tag Archives: House Concerts

Tori Vasquez
May 13, 2017

We are always so excited to host Tori Vasquez in a rare, intimate solo house concert! Most of you know Tori as the youngest daughter of Lubbock musicians Junior and Mickie Vasquez, and indeed Tori has made a name uniquely her own in the Lubbock music scene.

Having been pulled away from Lubbock by her burgeoning music career, Tori is now based out of Austin, with her husband Shannon Smith.  Although recently focusing on performing with their band The Battlin’ Nelsons, Tori is taking a one-time break from that format, instead choosing to come back to Lubbock to perform an intimate and rare solo house concert on Saturday May 13th, at Paul and Claire’s house.

Tori has chosen a set list that includes some old covers and originals that she hasn’t played in a long time, interspersed with some new songs you may not have heard her perform.

Join us for this rare opportunity to hear Tori solo in her home town, in an environment that is more close up and personal than any other.

Visit Tori’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ToriVasquezMusic/

 

Wendy Colonna
Friday June 10, 2016

Wendy ColonnaAfter almost 6 years of hosting house concerts, Paul Johnson’s house will see its last and final house concert on June 10th.  (Don’t worry, we are not quitting – we are moving! In the future, all of our concerts will be held in the new Paul and Claire’s house!  Now we can have the option of both indoor and outdoor concerts.)
We can’t think of a better entertainer to cap this great run of concerts than one of our all-time favorites, Wendy Colonna.

Wendy Colonna has long been one of our favorite musicians. A blend of blues, rock, soul and folk, Wendy has a surprise waiting around the corner with every song. She will take you from sultry and slow, to rockin’ and rollin’, and everywhere in between, with an emotional delivery that few artists even attempt. She gets lost in her delivery, and believe me, you will too.

Wendy has achieved amazing success, releasing a new CD (“Nectar”) to national critical acclaim, having her music chosen by Starbucks for national play in their stores, and having her song “A Happy Song” chosen by Coca Cola to back a national TV and movie theater ad campaign. Other highlights of Wendy’s trajectory also include: selection as a Wall Street Journal pick for “Best Music Acts” at SXSW 2014; featured co-vocalist in the Grammy/MusicCares All-Star Showcase; and interviews on both NPR’s Beale Street Caravan and WFUV’s Sunday Breakfast (NYC).

But what matters most is how Wendy connects with her audience, and those of you who have attended one of her previous concerts at Paul Johnson’s house can attest. This will definitely be a “don’t-miss” concert!

Wendy Colonna is on her way to a very special place, all her own, in the music industry. If you haven’t hitched your musical exposure to her star yet, get on board now. It will be a wonderful ride!

Concert information:
Wendy Colonna hosting the Farewell Concert at Paul Johnson’s house
Friday June 10th, 2016 at 7:15pm (doors open at 6:30)
Location: Paul Johnson’s house (address given with RSVP)
Tickets: $20 each (100% goes to our guest musician)
BYOB
Complimentary snacks and bottled water will be provided

Visit Wendy’s website at www.WendyColonna.com

P.S. Keep an eye on HubCityMusic.com, because before you know it, we’ll be posting an invitation to the very first concert at Paul & Claire’s house!  We are remodeling the new place now, and when we are finished you can bet we will invite you to our first concert of a new era!

Why House Concerts?

Someone recently asked “Why should I pay $20 to see someone at a house concert that I can see for ‘free’ at other places?”

That’s a good question, and I hope you’ll consider my response.

When you go to a club or restaurant to see someone for “free”, it’s not really free. You have the costs of food/drink purchased while there, as well as tipping a waiter/waitress. That can quickly add up to $20/person or more, and THE MUSICIAN GETS NONE OF IT. So, don’t forget to add in the cost of tipping the musician when you go to that “free” bar or restaurant, because the bar or restaurant is paying the musician a minimal amount, and they need your tips to make any money.

At a house concert, you are provided FREE snacks and bottled water, and your cost of bringing your own beer or wine is a fraction of what you would pay for drinks at a bar or restaurant. AND THE MUSICIAN GETS 100% of all money collected.

So do you save any money when you go somewhere else to see a musician perform for “free”? Not likely. But the difference in income to the musician is huge.

But there is so much more difference than how much you will spend or how much the musician will make.

Tired of leaving a performance smelling like a stale cigarette? That won’t happen at a house concert.

Many venues are so noisy that you can barely hear the musician. If you are there for the music, the noise and distractions are as frustrating to you as they are to the musician. At a house concert you are free from the smoke, noise, and distractions.

But the biggest difference in these environments is the difference to the musician. Can you imagine the irony and frustration a musician feels when performing the song that broke their heart, or tells the story of their greatest love, or the song that came from the depths of their emotions, for the typical bar or restaurant crowd? Pouring their heart out and it seems that no one is listening? Feeling like they are just background noise? Musicians write and perform in order to relate. And sometimes traditional venues make relating to an audience very difficult and frustrating.

The best part of a house concert is the intimate nature of this environment. It is comfortable. You are close to the musician. And in this intimacy, something transformative happens. The musician opens up. They don’t just perform, they relate. They talk to you. They tell stories. You get to hear the story behind the music. The story of how this song came to be written. The story of how that song influenced their life. The story of how this person you are listening to became a musician, why they love it, and how much it means to them. You won’t get this anywhere else. And by the end of the evening, you not only appreciate the music a little more, you understand and appreciate the musician. A lot more.

It really does make economic sense to pay to attend a house concert. Economic sense for you, and especially for the musician. But what is really significant has nothing to do with economics.

What makes a house concert make sense is the total experience. It feeds your soul with goodness, pleasure, joy, smiles, and laughter. You will be touched by unexpected emotions. But what you don’t know in advance is that, at the end of the evening, you will have given back to the musician as much as you have received, simply by being part of a back-and-forth exchange between musician and audience that musicians crave, but rarely experience.

You won’t experience this in a noisy, smoky bar. You won’t find it over the clatter of voices and plates and silverware and glasses in a restaurant. A house concert is a transcendent environment, and the experience is unlike any other, for both you and the musician.

House concerts are open to everyone. You don’t need to know anyone there. You will meet some of the nicest people. You will be welcomed and your presence will bless both you the musician more than you could know.

Make plans to attend and support House Concerts at every opportunity. You’ll be glad you did!

Sarah McQuaid
Friday October 23rd

Sarah McQuaidClick here for more information or to RSVP

International performer Sarah McQuaid makes a rare Lubbock appearance on Friday October 23rd in an intimate HubCityMusic.com house concert.  All the way from England, Sarah has found a broad audience in the United States, and is in the midst of a nationwide CD release tour, introducing her fourth solo CD.  Entitled “Walking into White”, this newest release is receiving rave reviews.  Here are a few samples of the response this CD is receiving:

“Luminous … a soft but forceful record whose urgency is sometimes masked by the music’s acoustic serenity.” —The Boston Globe

“The more we spin this one, the better it sounds.” —BabySue

“Jaw-droppingly beautiful … tender and gorgeous.” —Invisible Ink Music Blog

We are extremely fortunate and grateful that Sarah’s schedule makes this concert possible.

Sarah’s voice has been likened to malt whiskey, melted chocolate and “honey poured into wine”. Her new album Walking Into White (2015) is her most honest and adventurous work to date, with a depth and texture of soundscape that are reflected in her beautifully crafted live shows. A captivating performer, she seduces her audience with cheeky banter and stories from the road, as well as with stunning musicianship; in her hands, the guitar becomes much more than merely an accompanying instrument.

You won’t want to miss her unique vocals and accompanying guitar, as well as the sound magic that accompanying sound technician Martin Stansbury brings to the room.  It will be an amazing performance!

Visit Sarah’s website here: www.SarahMcQuaid.com

Click here for more information or to RSVP

Admission is $20/person, with 100% going to our guest musician.
Concert information:
Sara McQuaid at Paul Johnson’s house
Friday October 23rd, 2015 from 7:15pm till 10pm (doors open at 6:30)
Location: Paul Johnson’s house (RSVP to receive directions)
BYOB
Complimentary snacks and bottled water will be provided

Click here for more information or to RSVP

 

Sarah McQuaid
Friday October 24, 2014

Requested by popular demand, Sarah McQuaidwe were pleased to host vocalist and singer/songwriter, Sarah McQuaid, in a HubCityMusic.com house concert on Friday October 24, 2014.  Sarah kept an enthusiastic audience spellbound with her silky smooth vocals, and engineer Martin Stansbury made his own unique and artistic contributions to the amazing sound.  Sarah McQuaid definitely delivered the most unique voice to the HubCityMusic.com stage that we have ever experienced, and everyone who was in attendance was entranced.  We will be hosting Sarah again in October 2015 for a CD release tour appearance, and you won’t want to miss that return visit!

Coming to West Texas all the way from England, Sarah was born in Spain, raised in Chicago, spent 13 years in Ireland and currently lives with her family in Cornwall, England.  Ireland is where she started her music career, and it is clearly a place that means a lot to her: “I do love Ireland. I lived there for 13 years, my children were both born in Ireland and my husband’s from Ireland.”

Sarah has toured all over the world, in places such as Ireland, England, Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and across the United States.

She has released 4 albums, all to great critical acclaim, and has also authored a book, titled “The Irish DADGAD Guitar Book”.

Sarah McQuaid’s voice is amazing, with a range from low and sultry to sweet and high.  In many ways her voice is reminiscent of Carly Simon, as well as Joni Mitchell, and also reminds me of another vocalist from England with incredible vocal range, Julia Fordham.

But of course, despite inevitable comparisons, Sarah is her own artist, with her own unique sound.

A few quotes regarding Sarah:

“Rising star Sarah McQuaid’s voice has been likened to malt whiskey, melted chocolate and “honey poured into wine”.

Sarah’s third solo album, “The Plum Tree and the Rose”, has drawn critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic: “Impeccable” wrote fRoots (UK), while Midwest Record (USA) called it “low key but glorious and incendiary”, and Hot Press (Ireland) said it “should feature on many end-of-year best-ofs.”

Check back here for video clips from her October 24, 2014 HubCityMusic.com house concert.

Listen to samples of her music here:  http://www.reverbnation.com/sarahmcquaid/song/12437827-lift-you-up-and-let-you-fly

Watch this video of her song “The Sun Goes on Rising”:

Wendy Colonna
Friday June 21, 2013

Wendy Colonna

Wendy Colonna – voted Austin’s “Best Singer Songwriter” (Austin American Statesman)

Wendy Colonna combines the heart and soul of her Louisiana roots with the funky refinement of her current Austin domicile, and the result is a sophisticated, sexy, soulful sound that is all her own, yet remains accessible and inviting.  A masterful songwriter, her poetic lyrics have an interesting edge that connote meaning beyond words, and her delivery – which can vary between melodic and gritty – brings them home with soulful style. 

A multi-year regular at the Buddy Holly Summer Showcase, Wendy has performed two annual HubCityMusic.com house concerts at Paul Johnson’s house, each time sharing the kind of intimate evening that can only occur in the eye-contact environment that is unique to the house concert format.

Here is a video of a wonderful song, “Vacancy”, from Wendy’s recent concert:

This is a video from Wendy’s HubCityMusic.com house concert last year:

A review of this song on Amazon.com:
Wendy Colonna is one of those artists that must be seen live to really appreciate the depth of the soul she brings to her music. “Shine” is a great example – you haven’t experienced this song until you hear it live. There are a few versions of it on YouTube, each different from the others, based on who she has accompanying her at any given time. But any version of a great song is still great, and that is certainly true with “Shine”. It has a rocking, rolling, rhythm & blues fundamental that is spiced up with some of Wendy’s back-home Louisiana influence.

Beyond the pure musical appeal of this song is a message that is worth hearing. This song was inspired by a quote from Turkish poet and activist Nazim Hikmet: If I do not burn If you do not burn If we do not burn How will darkness come to light?

Certainly a message we can all take to heart – If we do not spend ourselves burning brightly, how else will darkness disappear?

This level of excellence in both music and message is compelling, and makes this song a worthwhile addition to your musical and philosophical libraries.

Visit Wendy’s website at www.WendyColonna.com

Washuntara III
Saturday June 1st, 2013

Washuntara IIIOne of the best things about hosting these house concerts is all the friendships that have been born and strengthened through this experience.

This includes each of you who have attended these concerts and become either new friends or closer friends, and it also includes those musicians who have shared our time and space and food and drink, along with their music and personalities.

Our friend Washuntara is one of those special relationships.  So when he completed his last concert of this tour and it was time to head back to California, he decided to take a little detour along the way to spend some time with us in Lubbock. This visit was not for the purpose of a concert, but since he was here anyway, he wanted to share our time and space by hosting an impromptu HubCityMusic.com house concert for all his friends and fans in Lubbock.

It was short notice, but all our friends who attended can attest that this was perhaps Washuntara’s best HubCityMusic.com house concert yet.  Although a bit weary from his recent tour, he ended this chapter on a high note, literally , as his voice soared with an edge honed sharp from all the recent concerts, and his guitar work reflected a precision perfected by practice.

Having written literally hundreds of songs, Washuntara was able to pull out fresh material that we have never heard, as well as a few familiar favorites.  And we were treated to the first-ever performance of a new song that he just wrote, ” Step Into The Sun”.   Click the link below to see this awesome new song!

The result was an engaging performance that was decidedly low key and intimate, and yet full of energy.  Here is what one attendee, Terry Johnston, wrote on her Facebook wall about this concert:   “What an AWESOME Concert I went to last night!!   WASHUNTARA did a house concert for HubCityMusic.com at Paul Johnson’s house.  Washuntara is an Australian Singer/Songwriter and he is one of the BEST I’ve ever heard!”  All we can add to that is a hearty “Amen!”

Listen to Washuntara’s brand-new original song, “Step Into the Sun”:
(be sure to change to HD if you have a fast connection)

 

We will post other new videos from this concert soon.

Click here to see more videos of Washuntara, and read the review of his previous HubCityMusic.com house concert.

Washuntara – An Encore Performance!
Saturday February 23, 2013

Washuntara returned for an encore HubCityMusic.com house concert on Saturday February 23rd, and an appreciative audience fell in love with both his music and his message.

WashuntaraHaving written literally hundreds of songs, there was no lack of material to choose from, and Washuntara played a completely different set for this encore performance.  Remaining consistent, though, was his high energy and positive message.

This Australian has shared the stage with the likes of Paul McCartney, the Eagles, the Moody Blues, and many more.  Well-known in Australia and Europe, Washuntara is making a name for himself stateside as well, particularly for his song-writing ability.

His song “She’s Tough”, performed at this concert, is playing in the background.
(or if not, can be heard by clicking   at the upper-right of this page).

Here is what one of our guests had to say after Washuntara’s previous concert:
“Last night Jack, Dusti, Chad, and I attended the most amazing concert I’ve EVER seen!!  Washuntara performed a house concert at Paul Johnson’s that  completely blew me away. His message of peace, love, and kindness is SO powerful and it touched me so deeply I just have to share it with you guys! Go to his website at washuntara.com and listen to his music and message! You’ll be hooked, too! Peace and Love to All Ya’ll!”  – Marti Dillon

(watch a video below, from his previous concert)

Return to our website in the next few weeks for links to some video from this concert.  In the meantime, enjoy some of the links below.

For more information about Washuntara (and more videos), go to our previous Washuntara page (http://hubcitymusic.com/?p=700), or visit www.Washuntara.com

Here’s a video of Washuntara performing his original “I Could Be Persuaded” at his previous concert:

Washuntara – November 17, 2012

“He’s rockin’- a definite two thumbs up!” – Sir Paul McCartney

If you missed Washuntara in his HubCityMusic.com house concert on Nov.17th, you missed a great time!

But don’t despair – We have an opportunity to bring Washuntara back for an encore concert on Saturday February 23rd!  

Washuntara has enjoyed phenomenal success in his home country of Australia, with a #2 hit, as well as critical and popular acclaim in Europe and Asia.  He has shared the stage with Paul McCartney, The Eagles, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Moody Blues, and many more.  Now he is bringing his music and philosophy to the United States, and we are amazed and honored that he would want to bless us with a private concert in our own living room here in Lubbock.

More than just a musician, Washuntara brings a message of love, peace, hope, caring, and sharing, through music, poetry, and philosophy.  His is not a religious message, but you cannot help but be influenced to be a better person by his contagious enthusiasm for all things good and true.

All expectations were exceeded as Washuntara was a great storyteller, as well as personally engaging everyone who was there.  By the end of the evening, we were all hooked on Washuntara’s loving personality!  Here’s what one concert-attendee wrote afterward: “Last night Jack, Dusti, Chad, and I attended the most amazing concert I’ve EVER seen!!  Washuntara performed a house concert at Paul Johnson’s that  completely blew me away. His message of peace, love, and kindness is SO powerful and it touched me so deeply I just have to share it with you guys! Go to his website at washuntara.com and listen to his music and message! You’ll be hooked, too! Peace and Love to All Ya’ll!”  – Marti Dillon

So go to his website, or browse the links below.  We are sure you will want love Washuntara’s music and his message.

“Introducing Washuntara” video:

Here’s a poem and a new song from his “September Gift” video:

Here is his October video update, mentioning his upcoming HubCityMusic.com house concert, along with a sneak preview of his newest song, “I Will Not Be Silenced”:

Here’s the first song of Washuntara’s that I ever heard.  This is the song that prompted me to invite him to come to Lubbock.

For more information, go to Washuntara’s website: http://www.washuntara.com