Every few months for the previous 12 years, Anne Katz and David Wallner have turned their near-east facet bungalow into an intimate live performance venue. 

They tear aside their front room, lug folding chairs from the basement and squeeze round 50 folks of their house to get pleasure from a night of acoustic music. Artists have traveled hundreds of miles to carry out at Our House Concerts, and a few even keep in a single day on the couple’s house.

The sequence has change into a ardour undertaking for Katz and Wallner, two music lovers who’ve lived in Tenney-Lapham for round 4 many years. With over 80 live shows held to date, it’s change into a neighborhood staple, making a group amongst each company and musicians. 

“We believe in building community and the concerts help us do that,” stated Wallner, a retired instructor and former City Council member. “Music brings people together, and that’s a big part of what we want to do.”

Katz and Wallner’s 19-and-a-half-year-old cat Izzy (who lately gained fame on the Cats of Madison Instagram) joins in on the enjoyable, too. Though he may not have the ability to hear, he enjoys the vibrations of the music and generally curls up subsequent to company, stated Katz, govt director of the nonprofit Create Wisconsin. 

The two rigorously vet the artists they function, and a few have even ascended into stardom, together with Americana/folks band Birds of Chicago. Led by Grammy-nominated Allison Russell, Birds of Chicago carried out at Carnegie Hall in 2019. 

Yet Katz and Wallner have crafted a Carnegie of their very own. In the hotter months, they transfer the music open air to their neighbor’s yard, becoming about 100 folks. One musician instructed them, “This is the Carnegie Hall of backyard concerts!” 

On April 29 at 7:30 p.m., Our House will host Canadian singer-songwriter Lynne Hanson, who some describe as “Canada’s queen of Americana.” Tickets price $20, and all proceeds go to the musical company. 

How did you two meet? 

Anne: I’m from New York initially, however I moved to Madison in 1984 to work for a theater firm. I had by no means been wherever close to the Midwest. I did not know something about Wisconsin. I did not care about Wisconsin. 

I moved into the house constructing throughout the road from the place we reside now, within the basement. David lived on the primary flooring. And that’s how we met. He’s from South Dakota. 

We received married, then we moved to a bit of home on Jean Street. And now we reside right here. We haven’t left the block. 

How did you get began internet hosting home live shows? 

Anne: We love music. We used to do a giant yard occasion and rent musicians to play. And then David retired, so we had extra time to speak about holding live shows. We noticed two native musicians acting at a restaurant, one in all them Sims Delaney-Potthoff from the band Harmonious Wail, and we requested them in the event that they’d love to do a live performance. They stated positive.

After that, we stated, “Well, that went well. Let’s do another one!” And 82 live shows later, that’s now what we do. We did not have any concept that we might find yourself doing this for over 10 years — and we have now no indicators of stopping. 

Dave: Now we get requests about 5 to 10 instances a month from folks wanting to return right here. It’s gotten loopy. In the final six months, we have heard from a duo from Brazil, a pair from Italy and a man from Australia. We solely do about 10 reveals a 12 months, so we find yourself turning down a lot of the requests as a result of we simply cannot deal with it. 

Anne: We would do extra if we might, but it surely’s plenty of work to advertise them and tear the home aside.

How a lot work goes into this, and what retains you doing it? 

Dave: It’s like working a small enterprise.

Anne: Very informally. 

Dave: I in all probability put in 25 hours a month, and Anne in all probability does about the identical.

Anne: There’s all the time a second the place I’m schlepping chairs up from the basement, and I say, “Dammit, I don’t want to do this anymore! It’s too much work!” 

Dave: There’s this second the place Anne sort of loses it, saying, “I’m so sick of these house concerts!” And then all the pieces is cool. We simply sail proper by it. 

Anne: It’s simply a lot enjoyable. I imply, it is tiresome schlepping the chairs up and down. But after we do it, and we see how a lot folks love the music, and we love the music, it’s completely value it.

It’s extraordinarily casual. We do not need to be competing with theaters. But it’s one other means for folks to make their dwelling and so as to add work for the musicians, which is all the time essential. 

How do you select which artists to function? 

Dave: I take a look at the music of everybody who contacts us. There’s 10,000 Bob Dylan clones on the market. Loads of them aren’t very attention-grabbing. We could have these moments when it’s someone new, and I’ll seize Anne to return hear. If we each have that ‘click’ second, we are saying, “Yeah, let’s do it.”

With all of the work that goes into doing a home live performance — cleansing, promoting tickets — we actually have to like a performer to carry them right here. It’s retirement pastime for me.

Anne: And it’s simply one other job for me! 

What sort of music do you gravitate towards?

Dave: We’ve completed a couple of jazz reveals, but it surely’s largely Americana music, or folks. It’s acoustic music. The artists have sound programs they plug in. We cannot do big rock and roll reveals in this sort of atmosphere. People play guitars, keyboards, mandolins, banjos, harmonica. 

Anne: We can match three performers in our structure, which is tight. We’ve had folks taping audio system to the partitions as a result of there was no different place to place it. 

I heard that you simply as soon as banned a pair from your home. Is that true? 

Anne: This couple would sit right here on the patio or on the sofa in the lounge, and they might make out. Eventually we simply took them off our checklist. 

Dave: That’s the one time we’ve banned somebody. They’d simply be pawing one another and having time. 

Anne: Otherwise, everyone has been very fantastic and nice. All of our viewers and our musicians have been good folks. 

Dave: It’s not a wild crowd. People are available and have wine, beer or soda that we promote, and eat cookies and popcorn that we offer. The musicians will keep afterward and speak to folks. The company are out of right here by 9:30. 

It’s nice enjoyable. We’re going to maintain doing this so long as we’re wholesome. We’re constructing this group of individuals. And the optimistic strokes we get are large on a private degree from our performers and our company who come. It’s all value it.