PERFORMER HOST
Housing in a private home is offered to all performers. Our philosophy is that
we’d rather pay the performer a little extra than pay for a hotel room
for them. Also, many performers enjoy getting to meet and spend some time with
a community member. Hosts should keep in mind, though, that many performers
spend incredible hours on the road and put incredible energy into being “on”
for the crowd. Sometimes when they get back to the host house, they simply want
to crash in privacy. Even though it can be exciting to have a performer as your
guest, please keep in mind their need for rest and privacy.
Generally the performer will not arrive at your house until after the concert,
and usually they leave after breakfast the next morning. You simply arrive at
the concert and let the door person know that you are hosting the performers.
They will be expecting you and will have your name on a list. You will receive
complimentary admission for two for your hospitality.
Sometime during the evening, approach the performer to introduce yourself and
let them know they'll be staying at your place. Don't wait until the last minute
as the performer will be wondering. After the show, you’ll wait around
for them to pack up and be ready to go. Keep in mind that this can take a while.
When they’re ready, they’ll follow you home. Or, if there are two
of you, you could offer to have one of you ride with them.
You need to be flexible with the whole after-show process. Sometimes performers
want to go out to eat at this point, sometimes they take what feels like forever
to be ready to go, and sometimes they even decide to just get on the road and
skip the hospitality you’ve planned for them. Often there’s an after
show party, which you and the performers would be invited to.
When you get back home, just do what you’d do for any guest: show them
their room, the bathroom, and anything special about your house. If they have
lots of expensive stuff in their car, offer them a spot in the garage if you
have one. In cold weather, they’ll need to carry instruments in, so offer
to help with that.
It would be nice if you’d offer breakfast the next morning but this is
not a requirement. If you’d like to offer them dinner the night before
or if you’d like to give them the option of arriving at your house before
the show, let Performer Liaison know and s/he’ll get the offer communicated
to them. Certainly these things are not expected, but if you’d like to
offer, this might be something the performer would enjoy.