[Hill Country House Concerts is a Certified House Concert under the Folk Alliance International PRO Agreement.]
Time, Pot Luck Supper, Guidance, Misc.
OVERBEARING BUT IMPORTANT NOTICE:
You are entering our venue at your own risk.
There is simply no way we can protect you and your family from every conceivable hazard lurking there. If you see something that is dangerous, let us know, but by entering our venue, you agree to assume all risk involved in the activities there. If you want more information on what kinds of hazards you may encounter, please ask us. We have included a partial list at the end of this page, but it is not comprehensive.
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Venue: In colder weather, the concerts are normally indoors (air-conditioned/heated) and on Saturday night (though this varies occasionally). When weather welcomes, we will hold the concert outdoors. Location will be advised when your seat request is confirmed, but always at a private residence in or near Boerne, Texas.
Schedule for the event (and normal times below. If any variation, the invitation will give details)
Doors are opened to guests (normally 90 mins before curtain)
Pot luck dinner (normally 45 mins before curtain)
First set of music (7:00pm in winter, 7:30 spring/fall) followed by a break for meet and greet the musicians, dessert, etc
then a second set of music, usually ending about 9:00-9:30pm or so.
Please arrive punctually (i.e., BEFORE dinner time if participating in the pot luck), and always no later than start of music as late seating can be disruptive. In the occasional event that you simply cannot arrive on time, please wait for the song underway to finish before finding your seat. If you need to leave before the end of the concert, that is quite OK.
Respect: Absolutely the best thing about house concerts is that you can really hear the music, every note and every word, as each are important. We are grateful for these fine musicians, who give us their time and great talents, and we need give them the respect that they, and fellow audience members deserve, by remaining quiet and seated during the performance of each song. Between songs, moving around and brief low volume comment or conversation with your neighbor is just fine, but please conclude before the beginning of the next song, and in no case interfere with the ability of those around you to hear the musician's commentary between songs. Please do not accompany by audible toe-tapping, snapping, or especially clapping and/or singing along, even quietly, unless specifically requested by the performer, as this is extremely distracting to those around you.
Also you may find that the musician has made a different lifestyle choice from your own. Please respect their right to make their own choice.
Dress: Whatever you are comfortable in. Most dress casually.
Pot luck: There will be an OPTIONAL pot luck supper prior to the concert. If you will participate, and we hope that you will, please will each bring your choice of covered main dish, salad, cheese, or dessert (or, if you are coming from the office, a fast food pickup is OK) to share, plus any drink of preference for yourself. Desserts will be enjoyed during the break between music sets. If you wish, you can bring a bottle of wine to share instead of a dish (just put it on the table with the food).
Water, tea and coffee will be provided, but please note this is otherwise a BYOB (Bring Your Own Beverage) event. Alcoholic beverages in moderation please. BTW, if you don't see the tea, please look in the refrigerator as I often forget to get it out. Ice is in the freezer above.
If you prefer to eat before the concert, and forgo the pot luck, this is absolutely fine. However, if you do want to participate in the pot luck, please do bring a dish to share as pot lucks can only work if all that take food bring food. It might be mentioned that our audience normally bring excellent home-made dishes, which makes for a great smorgasbord of tastes and flavours, and generally enhances the pleasure of the evening.
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Several have asked for more specific pot luck guidance, so here goes:
Who? EACH PERSON who participates in the pot luck. Please bring a dish if you wish to participate.
How much food? One person usually eats (at least) the volume of one plate of (mixed) food, so each person who goes through the line should bring a single dish containing in quantity at least six modest servings of that dish. This applies to couples (two plates volume) and guests (one plate volume each) minimum. Please either discuss this in advance with your guests, or bring food for them.
(The assumption is that each participating person will bring a single dish containing the appropriate volume of one plate of food and couples would also bring a single dish, but twice as much, etc. And those who go through the line twice might bring a greater volume so that everyone has enough.)
What? Occasionally we have an abundance of deserts. So if you are undecided, and are considering desert, please go instead with either a main course, salad, soup/stew, appetizer, or ? instead. Home cooked is best, but if time prevents, pick up something en route. No problem, but keep quantity in mind.
Timeliness: Participants please do arrive with your dish before the posted start time for the pot luck. It is only fair to the others for your dish to be on the table when the line starts. BTW, the musician/s is/are always our honored guests and we follow them through the line. I will announce the beginning of the repast.
Those of you who spend a bit of time preparing something special are very much appreciated by all. During our first year, Walt Wilkins said of the pot luck that night, "That's the best pot luck I have ever seen!" That's the standard we want to maintain.
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Seating: Please bring your own lawn chair for outdoor concerts or, if indoors a more compact type as space will be limited. If weather is unstable but the concert will be outside, both types if you have them, will be ideal as the concert will move inside if rain occurs.
Our audience is a friendly and welcoming lot, so please do introduce yourself to those seated next to you.
Admission: There will be a minimum suggested honorarium for the artist at the door. These contributions go 100% to the musician to defray their expenses and provide some compensation for their time and amazing talent. Please note that this is a suggested minimum and those who wish may, as many do, show your appreciation for these selfless musicians by making your contribution a larger amount. The suggested amount varies, so this information will be included in the invitation. Please do make your contribution as you enter as it is difficult for door staff to keep up with receivables.
Full House: In fairness to those who may be on the waiting list for seats for "full house" concerts, cancellation notices before 5pm two days before the concert are necessary. After that, it may be too late to re-allocate your seat which is not fair to the musician, nor those waiting. Notices sent after that time require immediate payment by check of the honorarium for each person cancelling. In the event that your seat is re-allocated, we will return your payment. "No Shows" (i.e., no cancellation notice sent to us) must send payment on the day following the concert. If payments expected under this policy are not received, the offending party's email address will be removed from our invitation list. We do not expect to have to follow up with anyone. Please email for an address to send payment. Finally, if you cannot attend, please email advise right up to curtain time to give us a chance to find someone to take your seats (and thereby give you a refund.)
Please note that the above only applies in the case of a full house, and there will be notification prior to the concert when this occurs.
Photography: Our concerts are for listening, and anything that takes away from the fullest enjoyment of the music is inappropriate. Generally:
-Avoid use of flash.
-If possible, turn camera's settings to silent.
-If you plan to take more than a handful of photos, always get permission. Email host before the concert to discuss your plans.
Younger audience members: Well behaved guests 16 years of age and older are always welcome. Younger folks are also welcome if accompanied by an attentive adult who will quickly escort them home if the youngster's attention wanes and they become a distraction to fellow guests. If any doubt please email the host prior to the concert. (PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT MUSICIANS' LYRICS OR COMMENTS SOMETIMES ARE OF THE "ADULT" VARIETY)
Thank you for your consideration in regards both of the above on behalf of everyone in the venue.
Smoking is pemitted out of doors only. Please dispose of cigarette ends thoughtfully.
Invitations: This only for the intensely interested, but certified house concerts must observe restrictions laid down by the Performance Rights Organizations. One of these is that house concerts cannot be open to the public, but must be by invitation only. The PRO's position is that they are looking after the interests of copyright holders. But our musicians almost always perform their own songs, and since 100% of the honorarium goes to the musicians, I am personally unclear as to the value added by the PRO's in such case. Why "restricting" the audience by prohibiting "open to the public" concerts is a good thing for any copyright holder anywhere is an even greater mystery to me. But rules are rules, and we must observe them. So, "By Invitation Only" to family and a wide circle of friends it is.
So please register on the "Home" page (lower right corner) to receive invitations to each concert. Please fill out all fields to keep us within the guidelines. For more info on this, click on the INVITATIONS tab above.
PARTIAL LIST OF HAZARDS:
DIFFERENT OPINIONS AND LIFESTYLE CHOICES FROM YOUR OWN!!!!!!
Fire and or smoke
Loose Wires
Slippery Floors
Uncontained liquids (Spills)
Chair collapse
Low Light Conditions
Uneven Walking Surfaces
Falls
Open Flame in Fireplace
Steps
Glass Doors
Candles
Stray Dogs
Poisonous Snakes
Lightning
Scorpions
Fire Ants, Wasps, Bees, etc.
Stray Fireworks
Scalding Water from Food Warmers or coffee makers
Coffee and other hot liquids
Mosquitos
Dangerous Spiders
Wild Animals - racoons, possums, etc
Deer in the road and on the property
Loose Livestock
Road hazards in parking areas
Rusty, Barbed Wire Fences
Kids playing with sticks and rocks
Low Tree Branches
Poison Ivy, Nettle, Thorns
Broken Glass
Pesticide (bug spray)
Loud, Sudden Noises
Grass Fires
2nd Hand Smoke
Amoks
Other people doing stupid things
and more....
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