Thanks for hosting a Living Room Show!

Jayne from our office is the main contact for the shows and she’s always happy to answer any questions along the way. We’ve done over 3000 shows like this and we have a pretty good system in place to make it as easy as possible for you.

After we confirm the show, Jayne will send an email to gather details about your place that we pass along to fans so they know the deal. Here’s the info we need from you…

* Living Room Show address:
* Capacity (40-75):
* Best day-of-show phone #:
* Parking instructions for guests:
* Parking instructions for performer:
* Seating (floor seating unless there is a better option):
* Misc helpful details (use back door, front door, etc…):
* Policy on alcohol:

It’s totally cool if you don’t want people to bring alcohol. We realize some shows being held in a churches or commercial spaces have restrictions and we’re happy to pass that info on to guests… but this is what we usually tell guests if you are ok with them bringing beverages…

“The host is allowing attendees to bring a few beers or a bottle of wine to enjoy at the show. But please remember that this is a low-key intimate acoustic performance, not a party. Please pick-up after yourself after the show.”

That’s it.

Once we have the info, we’ll set up a ticket link and a Facebook Event and pass those along to you. We can make you a host on the FB event so you can easily invite friends from there. Or feel free to invite friends via email and direct them to the ticket link to purchase tickets.

You get 5 free tickets in addition to anyone who lives in the house. There’s no need to run your personal guests through our list or give us the names. You can just let them in. Everyone else needs to buy tickets in advance through our website. We do it this way so you don’t have to deal with any money at the show, helps us keep the guest list accurate and helps us with accounting to the artists on our end.

Everyone who buys tickets will get a PDF with details about the show, your address, phone number, parking info, arrival time, show time and seating situation. Your name, address or contact info will not be published anywhere on the internet. We don’t want people showing up at your house trying to buy tickets at the door.

Here are some tips to help it go smoothly on the night of the show.

– Jayne will send over the final guest list the day of the show. All you have to do it check names off at the door and show people where to stand or sit and which way to face when they arrive. Most people bring the printed PDF as their ticket. Some have it on their phone… as long as their name is on the list, it’s cool to let them in.

– We ask guests to start arriving at your place after 7pm. Most artists arrive between 7:30pm – 7:45pm to set up. The shows generally run from 8pm until about 9:30pm. We let fans know ahead of time they should be out of your space by 10pm (unless you say it’s ok for folks to hang out later).

– Put on some background music at moderate to low volume so people can meet each other and chat before the show. Something you can turn off before the show starts and turn on after the show is over.

– Most artists will need to borrow a chair (or multiple chairs if there’s more than one performer) to sit on during the show. Normal dinner table type chairs are fine. And they need a small table or countertop space to lay out tour merchandise they’ll sell after the show.

– Mood lighting! It’s helpful to have some ambient lighting, a few lamps or overhead lights on a dimmer to set the mood. If you have no control over the lights, don’t worry about it.

– Some hosts put out food or snacks and some don’t. It’s not required or expected. Totally up to you.

– A bottle or glass of water for the performers is much appreciated.

– We specify on the hosting submission pages that we don’t have openers on these shows. Please don’t ask us to make an exception to have your friend or favorite local songwriter play a few songs before the show. That puts us all in a weird spot when we have to say no. We’re already asking fans to sit still and quiet for about 90 minutes for our show. We don’t want people to get restless. Plus, an important part of touring is being able to create a routine and consistency for every show. The artists like to come into the shows with a fresh audience. As David Bazan says… “I like these shows because it’s all on me to win or lose the audience.” Plus, it changes the vibe and schedule to have someone open the show and these shows rely heavily on vibe and schedule! Thanks for understanding.

– We love dogs and cats… we really do! But an excitable pet running around during the show can be distracting for the guests and performers. I saw a dog spend half the show sniffing a performer’s butt. It was weird. Put ’em away, send ’em to a friends house, bring ’em back after the show. Also, a big loud squawking parrot or a loose python isn’t a good scene either (yes, both of those things really happened!).

If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to ask Jayne. We’re here to help make this easy and fun for everyone.

Thanks for making these shows possible and supporting artists in a real and meaningful way.

Bob and Jayne / Undertow.