HOUSE CONCERT / PRIVATE CONCERT INFO / SPONSORING A SHOW

Would you like to have Marina come to your town? 
You can sponsor a show! Or organize a show. Or have Marina & Nick play at your private event.

SPONSORING A SHOW:
If you'd like to have Marina come play in your town, you can sponsor a show!
What does that mean? That means you provide the finances for Marina & Nick to travel and perform at a venue in your area. 
It can be anywhere in the world, but as you can imagine the travel costs have to be covered to make it possible.

Because "normal" venues often don't pay enough to even cover the basic travel expenses (let alone make money and to cover lodging/food), there often is a need for a sponsor to make a concert possible. More than half of Marina's concerts are sponsored by her fans.

You can organize the event yourself (see below) or you can simply be the financial backer (in this case, Marina, Nick & their agent will organize the show). 

To sponsor a show or have Marina & Nick play at your private event, please email us at contact@MarinaV.com with your proposal. 
 
ORGANIZING/HOSTING A SHOW:
You can be the mastermind of the whole event! :) You pick the venue, you invite the audience.
You can host Marina's concert at your home, at your friend's home, at work, church or even at a rented facility.
You can even make it a fundraiser for your favorite charity.
Please read the info below (scroll down past the reviews) and then send us an email with your proposal. 
Thank you!!

ABOUT HOUSE CONCERTS

House Concerts build strong friendships between musicians, presenters/hosts, and listeners, as they are the most intimate and compelling performance environment available!

For the performer, it's a chance to perform in a friendly "listening environment" and to earn some money to keep on touring. For the audience, it's a chance to get very close to the performer and the songs.

As of recently, House Concerts have entered the mainstream. There has been a New York Times article, CBS Morning Show feature, etc!!!

The basic ingredients for a house concert are: 
a) 15 + people
b) a place for them to sit comfortably and enjoy the performance (you'd be amazed how many people can fit in an average sized room!)

House concerts are as different as the personality and inclinations of the host. You can provide snacks and beverages, or make it a potluck if you would like. You can also make it a  fundraiser for your favorite cause.

GETTING PEOPLE OUT The "public" doesn't usually come to house concerts. The attendance basically depends on the host.

THE PERFORMANCE It's full show, the same as in a club, it will just be a little more casual and intimate. 

If you want to MC, you could start the concert by introducing Marina and how you got to know her and her music.
You can remind everyone that there is coffee over here, the bathroom is over there, CDs are for sale by the door. 
At the end of the concert, you could thank people for coming, and tell them again that CDs are available. 
Marina loves to hang out after the concert, answer questions, & sign CDs!
 


How To Organize a House Concert:

Host: person at whose place the concert takes place.
Sponsor: person who is in charge of gathering money and paying the musician.

THE MONEY (1)
The amount of money the performer needs to make can change depending on the day of the week, and the geographical location. 
$500-$600 is a standard and a pretty fair base rate for a solo musician on a quiet night.
That breaks down to only $10 or $15 per person for 15-20 couples. Convincing 15 friends to come (with a partner or guest) is not a big deal.

THE MONEY (2): performer's guarantee
Most house concert organizers offer the musician a guarantee. 
After all, the musician depends on each performance to make a living, to pay their bills and continue touring.

If you are worried about covering a performer's guarantee, try dividing the cost among friends. 
Ask each if, in the unlikely event of a loss, he or she would chip in up to $20 or $30. 
This has the added benefit of getting more people involved early, and with a vested interest to boot.

THE MONEY (3): dividing the spoils
Most hosts will give performers the full amount collected. 
Where there is money made above the performer's minimum guarantee, some hosts give that money to their favorite charity, 
or keep it to cover some of their expenses (if any). 
But bear in mind: a house concert is something that is sponsored for love not money. 
That is part of the charm, part of what makes it personal, part of the reason friends will come even though they have never heard of the performer.

Numbers and space
15-25 people and higher. The actual size of the room will pretty much determine the potential audience. A good rule of thumb is 3 square feet per person.

Your living room is too small? Remember that the sponsor and the host need not be the same person. 
It is a long-standing and sensible tradition to guilt-trip a friend with a big living room into offering it for the occasion. 
Do not feel badly about this, but rather, think of it as a favor to them!! They'll talk about it for a long time!!

Promotion
In our experience, people will come to a house concert for the following reasons. In order:

  1. They are happy to accept an invitation from a friend.
  2. It sounds like a good party and a chance to see the gang.
  3. It is an odd and intriguing thing to do.
  4. It is for a good cause (if it is for a cause).
  5. They want to hear the particular performer.

Which is to say, it is essential to "promote" the event in the same personal way you would any celebration you have decided to host at your home. Whether you phone people or send written invitations, the personal contact is crucial.   If, in addition, you want to advertise (whether by a poster at the office, a note in a newsletter, or an announcement in the press) that is grand, and the resulting extra sales are a bonus; but the friends you invite yourself must fill most of the seats.

Other promo tips:

  • Send a link to a youtube video or artist's website. This can be very effective.

  • Most performers have friends and fans most everywhere. Ask the performer to help spread the word! 

  • Performers can provide promo material, including graphics, poster art and a write-up the sponsor can send out or draw on.

  • To add to the party atmosphere (and the attractiveness of the event), invite people to bring a plate of finger food and/or a bottle of wine.

Tickets (1)
Should there be printed tickets? A reservation list? RSVPs? This is a judgment call for the host to make. 
I highly recommend the advance ticket route (or pre-paid reservations). For several reasons:

  1. People who have already bought tickets don't change their minds at the last minute.

  2. I have seen an RSVP-ed (but un-ticketed) full house evaporate because a storm blew in.

  3. The best advertisement is someone who has already bought a ticket.

You can use evite.com and paypal.com - both are excellent tools.

Tickets (2): Price
You know best what price is suitable for your friends. But don't skimp. Be comfortable charging $15 or "whatever you can afford."

I recommend you have an "earlybird" price, expiring a week or two before the show. 
Say $12 for the early bird, $15 after that. The purpose being, of course, to encourage advance purchase.

Seating
There are several ways to seat 40 people in a living room. Ask everyone to bring a folding chair or a cushion; borrow stacking chairs from a church or union hall.

Most everyone can sit on the floor for an hour in relative comfort. In fact it can feel kind of good, psychologically.

Going public
Yes, you can hold a house concert in a public hall and invite the general public. Many have done this successfully - although you should be aware that the expenses can mount quickly. However, though the event is now "public", you should still promote it in the personal way.

House concert fundraisers
Fundraising by holding a house concert (or any public event) can work out well, but it demands careful planning. The same gathering of 40 people can raise less than $100 or over $1000. It is, in fact, not a lot harder to raise the larger amount, but the event must be planned with the fundraising goal firmly in mind.
 

A FEW REVIEWS FROM CONCERT HOSTS/ORGANIZERS

What an amazing and unique opportunity. A front row seat at the best concert I had ever seen and it was right here in my living room! Passionate and moving music in a relaxed and intimate atmosphere among close friends and family. Marina captivated and inspired everyone in the room, young and old. Your voice has the ability to evoke so much emotion and warm a person's heart and soul. You and Nick are so real and down to earth and made everyone here feel as if they have known you both for years. Thank you again for such a wonderful evening! It was an honor to have you perform in my home and you are both welcome back anytime! ~Tiffany, Perkasie, PA (2 house concerts)

Everyone loved you and Nick and had a great time at the concert. You and Nick are so incredibly talented, Marina! We wish you all the very,very best in your career and life! Next year, we hope to see YOU at the Grammys!!!! ~ Patricia, Berkeley/Richmond, CA

Do you want to be a hit with your friends and associates? Do you want to organize a fundraiser? I did both and an unbelievable evening resulted with Marina enthralling a group of 50+ friends and Rotarians in a private club setting. Find a venue and some friends and have a fabulous time. You won?t regret it! ~ Larry H., Rotary Club, Atlanta, GA

It was better than I could have hoped for - thank you! Everyone loved your music. ~ Dan C., Phoenix, AZ

I've been getting calls all day from everyone that came to your show last night! They were alltelling me how much they enjoyed your songs, your music ,and how they enjoyed all you had to say between songs!! And I had the best time and enjoyed every minute of it! Thank you so much for coming all that way to be with us! And thanks for hanging out with us after the show. I had a great time talking with you and Nick. You are two very special people. I know we'll see you at the top of the charts and people will have a reason to listen to the radio again! ~ Cary Lynn, Roanoke, VA

You and Nick were awesome!!!Everyone loved you both.You are very talented and personable; thus, why I invited you.You both are special individuals and I wish both of you all the BEST!You deserve it! ~ Keith H., WaMu, Seattle, WA (organized a concert for his co-workers in their office building)

Professional set up, excellent performance, beautiful voice, fun atmosphere, strong fan following, sold out show. Doesn't get better than this.~ Nikita Kozlovskij, Director of Marketing & Event Production, Novoe Radio LLC, San Francisco, CA

I can't begin to tell you how thrilling it was to host you and enjoy your performance. One show every three months just is not enough! ~ Donn & Mary M., Souderton, PA (3 house concerts)

Thank you so much for your beautiful performance, your gracious humility, your honesty and your wonderful connection to the audience!!! I am eternally grateful to you for your hard work, dedication to your music and your appreciation of your birth place!!! ~ Elena (organized a concert in PVCC Performing Arts Center), Phoenix, AZ

Hosting a house concert for Marina V is one of the best evenings you can have. It's fun and easy to do, and there's nothing like like hearing Marina perform in an intimate and comfortable living room setting. You have to wonder...why go a club or concert hall where it's crowded, the acoustics are fair to good at best, and the ticket prices are often sky high, when you can have the best musical evening right in your own home? I enjoyed hosting a house concert for Marina, and will certainly do it again. ~  Bill Adler, Washington, DC

Marina captivated the audience with her wit, charm and beauty... every one that came was at one point entranced by Marina, her cool/funny stories about Russia, to how she created this song. Marina is a true professional, a very talented artist, a wonderful person to be around, and a great musician! ~ Kevin & Teresa, Santa Cruz, CA  Read full review 

All week I have been hearing from people who were at the show and from people who only heard about it "through the grapevine".  Everyone loved you guys and had a great time!! ~ Scott, Tucson, AZ (2 house concerts)

Marina and Nick came and stole our hearts (but gave us theirs in return) with their wonderful music and fascinating stories. ~ The Slater-Lunsfords, Lancaster, CA

We were all treated to a very special evening with Marina and Nick and I know that I?m not alone in thinking it was great as over the next two days I received a flood of e-mails and had attendees from the show coming by my office at work to tell me what a great show they?d seen. ~ Don & Joelle A., Redondo Beach, CA  Read full review (6 house concerts)

Your performance was a great success. Thank you for coming and singing so well. ~ Yefim & Natasha, Scottsdale, AZ

Thanks again for a fabulous concert! You have the voice of an angel! ~ Bretz//Munoz family, Lancaster, CA

We are very thankful that we could have you here. You were amazing. ~ Tawnya, John, Becca, Monica, and Nathan Neri (organized & hosted a concert in Jennerstown, PA

I produced a concert in Woodland Hills, CA, starring Marina V.  The setting was a beautiful mansion filled with people who had never seen or heard Marina before.  From the very first note that she sang, the beauty of her voice and presence captivated all who were there. The niceness of the surroundings seemed to disappear as Marina's lyrics became the sole focal point. I was thrilled and honored to be a part of that wonderful night. Thank you Marina! ~ Alexander Lehr, Los Angeles, CA

Thank you for the delightful performance! We look forward to having you perform for us again in the future. ~ Sanjaya, International Club of DC

What a great night! Everyone loved you! ~ Tashia & Patrick, Redondo Beach, CA (hosted 3 concerts!)

Thank you, Marina, for your wonderful presence & performance. The guests really enjoyed you.~ Elissa K., Hollywood

Thank you so much for the great show. Everyone said they had a great time! ~ John, Santa Barbara, CA

Thanks so much for everything. You guys really were a hit here at our home. What a special evening along with your special music!!! Many Thanks! ~ Dave & Silvia, Fresno, CA

I have met Marina at a private house concert organized by one of my friends. As soon as she started to sing the first song, I was completely blown away as I expected much less out of a small house concert. I purchased all her CDs right away and learned and sang along with all of her Russian songs. I also hung her poster on my cubicle at work and was recommending her to all the co-workers who passed by and asked who she was. Then I invited Marina to sing at my private house concert that I've organized for my Birthday. All of my guests had lasting impressions from her angelic voice, vibrant personality, and unbeatable talent. I am a believer that true talent always finds a way to realize itself and have no doubt that many high achievements await Marina on her vocal journey through life! ~ Vera, San Francisco, CA

Впервые я познакомилась с талантом Марины на домашнем концерте у знакомых. Я пришла на этот концерт не зная ничего о певице и без особенных ожиданий. Но когда первой песней прозвучала "Белая Гвардия", я была потрясена. Столько чувства, нежности, энергии было вложенно в эту песню. Весь концерт прошёл на одном дыхании! После концерта я купила диск русских песен в её исполнении и выучила слова к каждой песне! Некоторое время спустя я пригласила Марину в мой День Рождения выступить с концертом уже у меня дома. Абсолютно все мои гости остались в полном восторге от её ангельского голоса и бушующей  в нём энергии, от её несравненного таланта. Я очень рада, что Марина не только талантливая певица, но ещё и прекрасный человек, с которым мне удалось подружиться. Я очень рекомендую не пропустить её концерта в ваших краях так как уверенна, что на её выступлении вы ни об одной минуте не пожалеете! ~ Вера, Сан Франциско