What We're About
In June of 2001 we celebrated the sixth year of doing our
Cabin Concerts. We figure that by this time, if you're on this site you already
have an idea about what a house concert is. Briefly, our shows take place
in the living room of our log cabin which was built in 1932. The furniture
in our tiny living room is moved to the side-plastic stackable chairs are moved
into the room-and about 32 people temporarily move in to have a completely
unique musical experience.
There is no sound system as the nearest person to the artist will be about 2'
away-and the worst seat in the house is about 12' from the "stage".
The idea is to break the musical process down to the essential elements: a
singer and a song. It's very simple, but in that simplicity is the core of
all great art. Although there are always lots of laughs at these shows
they are mostly about a creative person sharing something they feel very deeply,
on a very basic level. You may miss the reverb and the echo chambers and
the lights-but you inevitably respond to the feeling that you're seeing these
artists in a way not many fans have a chance to.
As small time as this venue is, it has taken on a rather large life of it's own.
Elsewhere on this site you'll be able to read about the day CBS television came
and made ours the featured venue on a piece about house concerts they did for
their national program CBS Saturday Morning. Richard Shindell was here for his
third trip in that day and the music and magic were in huge supply!
We've had shows hosted by Meg Griffin and Claudia Marshall from WFUV-FM. Lynn
Crystal from WFDU-FM has hosted a number of shows here as well. It has
been extremely rewarding to have been welcomed so warmly by this great local
radio scene.
A number of local newspapers have also run interesting feature stories about
this place and the artists and fans who come here. The New York Times also
ran a front page feature on house concerts in November of 1999-we were fortunate
enough to have been included in that article as well.
So the evidence is getting more and more conclusive that something interesting
is happening in the acoustic music scene and in the house concert venues that
are cropping up all across the country. As a result, the artists we've
been able to attract to this very tiny venue make up a truly incredible who's
who list of today's best singer-songwriters. Elsewhere on the site you can read
a list of performers who've appeared here-this list is, perhaps, our proudest
achievement.
So hopefully your appetite for great music in this unique setting is
sufficiently whetted. The format for our shows is simple. They
usually, but not always, are held on sundays at 3:00. They are preceded by
an optional pot luck get-together where you're asked to bring a covered dish to
throw into a nice mix of food and friends. If there is enough response,
and there often is, we'll do a second show at 6:00. Call or e-mail for
reservations, which are a must. All of the money you pay here, whether it
be for admissions or cd sales, goes to the artist.
If this sounds interesting to you give us a call or e-mail us-we'll answer any
questions you may have. Please share this information with friends,
family, and co-workers who may be interested in this place. Your help can only
make this an even better place to hear some great music.
Your Hosts - Tim & Lori Blixt (973) 616-0853
timandlori@cabinconcerts.com
