Culture & Entertainment Notebook: Not your usual concert: local duo host living room gigs

The following story has been edited to correct the address Underbergs' home.

Larry and Jean Underberg have presented house concerts in their living room for 17 years -- without making a profit. They also provide food and lodging for the artists.

"Basically, the musicians will play and whatever they make in tips or donations they just keep," Larry Underberg said, "and of course any merchandise sales."

He said the concerts have been popular, mostly with the folk and singer-songwriter circuit. The Underbergs' concert series might even be "one of the earliest," Underberg said.

The concerts started with solo performances, he said, for maybe about a year, and then began to grow with the addition of a sound system "to amplify things a little bit."

Members of the audience watch from their seats in the dining room as Baylor Wilson and Jordyn Shellhart perform on April 23, 2017 in the home of Larry and Jean Underberg in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

"Now when we can we try to put in full bands or trios," he said. "I think we've had up to six people in a band playing in the living room before."

Underberg said with the sound system, the series has moved away from the folk music and has transitioned more into a "blues, rock, stuff that's a little more energetic."

He said the main difference between the house concerts and other venues is simply amplification.

"We're always amplified and we're a little more on the rock end than some of the others," Underberg said.

He said the concerts are open to anyone to "come over and listen," and they are free to do so. The Underbergs typically have a group who attends regularly, he said.

Average attendance stays at a steady 20 to 25 people, he said, and there have been crowds of as many as 50 people in the house at one time, which was a surprise to Underberg.

"We always ask people to make reservations so we know how many chairs to put out," he said.

Underberg said "one of the weird things is," knowing the concert takes place in somebody's house. He said he understands when it makes someone a little hesitant, but he sees new people all the time along with a "pretty good group of return attendees."

During each concert series, Underberg said at the peak, there can be up to 15 shows in one year, which usually translates to one or two shows every month.

"Any more than that and it's going to be possibly a little bit more difficult," he said.

Most of the artists hosted have contacted the Underbergs with interest in participating, or their agents have contacted them, he said.

The house sets up pretty comfortably, Underberg said, with big rooms and a lot of space with plenty of seats.

Underberg said their concert venue is approximately 25 feet by 20 feet, in addition to "balcony seating" which is nearly 25 feet by 12 feet.

He said it's more space than a traditional coffee house but still intimate. With the floor plan, he said attendees have the opportunity to sit "right up close with the artist if you want to."

Underberg also said because of the close-knit atmosphere, many of the artists visit with those who attend, "so it's got that going for it."

Quite a few of the artists make return visits, he said, which constitute the core of the shows.

Jimmy Davis is an artist from Memphis, Tennessee, who plays in the area regularly, Underberg said.

"This guy was even doing background vocals with the Eagles at one time," he said. "A gentleman named Peter Carp, who is a signed blues musician with Blind Pig records, has been here quite a bit, too."

Most of the people return, according to Underberg, but not necessarily on a set schedule. He said there are usually six or seven artists or bands who want to return each year.

According to the Underberg House Concert website, there have been more than 60 bands and artists who have performed since the start of the house concerts.

One of the earlier big names, he said, was Kimberly Dohme, who played bass for the rock band Boston. She has an acoustic solo career, Underberg said, and is "very good."

"She's coming back up to Cape to play a show on Saturday night where she will sit in and play with Bruce Zimmerman's Water Street Band," he said.

Underberg said once they hosted a group from Canada consisting of four singer-songwriters who stopped by to play a show on their way to the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas.

He said most of the people who perform have strong credentials.

"They've written a lot for television, or other individuals, so all are tremendously talented," Underberg said. "Most of the people that come to the house are really floored at the quality of people that are coming through."

The Underbergs recommend a donation of $8 to $10 a person, which is what the typical contribution has been, he said, with everybody putting money in a tip jar on the way in.

He said even though it's just he and his wife who organize and put each show together, the whole process has become a little easier now.

"We have a good group of people who continually make contact with us, so we haven't had to scramble really at all on the planning," he said. "We've got the next three months booked already."

The next show featuring Shaw Davis and the Black Ties is 7 p.m. Sunday at 1122 Patricia St. in Cape Girardeau.

jhartwig@semissourian.com

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