DIDSBURY - A couple of upcoming house concerts are set to rock Didsbury in the next few weeks. Mike Crampton and his family have been hosting house concerts since 2016 and have two coming up soon: Cecile Doo-Kingue on May 26 and Michael Bernard Fitzgerald on June 7.
Crampton said they got connected with an organization called Home Routes that arrange mini-tours for artists.
"We agreed to be a host for one of the stops on the tour that goes through this area," said Crampton. "They used to do it in Olds but they didn't want to do it anymore so we took over. We've hosted other shows that we organized and have done that since 2016. This year is our first with Home Routes as hosts starting in September. There are six Home Routes concerts each year so we did six plus a couple extra concerts like Dan Bern in February."
The two upcoming shows are not Home Routes shows but are a similar style, said Crampton.
Crampton said he came up with the idea of hosting home concerts after seeing one in Olds.
"I had never heard of a house concert before," he said. "I went to a couple of shows in Olds and just loved it. I really like live music. I go to a lot of concerts as it is. The house concerts were new to me a few years ago. I started chatting with the hosts and said, 'hey, we could probably host. We have a good space at home.' So they connected me with a couple of artists and we hooked up with them and hosted a couple of shows. We had Jory Kinjo here last year. He plays with the Mocking Shadows in Calgary."
Crampton said there are plenty of good artists available wanting to play, but it's tougher to get good crowds out because people aren't aware or haven't heard of house concerts.
"It's an acoustic, intimate concert," he said. "We can fit 40 to 50 people in our basement. You're six feet or less from the artist. They're right there with you. You get to see it up close and hear it straight from their mouths. Sometimes they will chat with you. You can ask questions between songs. It's more interactive. It's quite a bit different than a regular concert. All the money goes to the musicians. We love live music and supporting musicians. We want to see people make a living playing music."
Crampton said that both upcoming shows should be excellent.
"Doo-Kingue is out of Montreal," he said. "She plays the blues. She kind of sounds like Tracy Chapman. She's a really good guitar player. Fitzgerald is out of Calgary and is pretty well known. His songs are on the radio. He did a show with the Calgary Philharmonic last year. He's quite a big deal for us to get for a house concert. He plays 'pop-y' folk. It'll be really fun."
Tickets for both shows are $20 with all revenue going straight to the artists. For more information or to get tickets and the location call Crampton at 403-554-1281 or visit them on Facebook under Blue Door Concerts.
