Windy City House Concerts

Windy City House Concerts has closed.

We are moving to Ann Arbor, MI to be close to family. We had hoped that we would be able to re-open for some shows, but our move date sped up. My heartfelt thanks to all of you who supported the series by attending and donating to the artists. We will miss you! We hope to start a new series in Ann Arbor some time so maybe we will see you there if you come to visit. Special thanks to all the artists who played our series – we’ll see you down the road! 

So what is a house concert, anyway?

Windy City House Concerts is the name we gave our private listening parties for our friends. We welcome new friends who love live music, but you must get in touch ahead of time to get an invitation. Reservations are required for all shows so that we make sure everyone gets a seat.

A house concert is just what the name suggests: a concert in a house. More accurately, it is really a concert in a home, since the word house doesn’t convey the sense of warmth and welcome that characterizes a house concert. House concerts are magical for both the musicians and the listeners. Everyone is together, up close and personal, the musicians to play and the audience to listen. Our home is in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. Our shows feature acoustic musicians performing folk, acoustic, singer/songwriter, traditional, bluegrass and blues music. Note that while these are house concerts, even though we are in Chicago, this is not house music.

An artist donation is requested for the musicians. This is a voluntary donation. All of the donations go directly to the musician. We suggest an amount to help the musicians get paid. They only get the donations, merchandise sales and a place to stay with meals. If the suggestion is more than you feel comfortable with, we still welcome you to attend and contribute what you can once you have an invitation.

What’s in it for us? We get to hear great musicians play in our living room and share the music with our friends. House concerts are a social occasion – we start off with a potluck of food and wine brought to share and a chance for everyone to visit. Then we move to the living room to listen to the music. Usually the musicians play two sets.

We’ve been doing this for a while, previously in Las Cruces, New Mexico where we hosted Las Alturas House Concerts from 2007 until 2012.

Our house is smoke-free.

The list of upcoming shows is at the right side of each page on the site. Click on the link for a show to see details and get links to the musicians’ web pages where you can listen to their music. Past shows can be viewed from the Posts link at the top of each page.

For more information, please contact Lee at 312-810-3067 or by e-mail at lee@windycityhouseconcerts.org. To get emails about our shows, please click here to subscribe to our mailing list. For invitations to specific shows, please click on the link on the show page or call Lee at 312-810-3067.