How do I book Music By The Bay house concerts?

The concerts take place in my home. All of the proceeds go to the performers and I spend considerable time and money on food, promotion, setup and cleanup. I do the concerts for three reasons:

• So I can hear my favorite artists in my favorite listening room
• So I can help my artist friends put together a tour of New England
• So I can introduce my audience to my favorite artists

Therefore I have to be truly excited about presenting the performers I book. Most of them I have been listening to for years (sometimes decades). Two or three per year are recent discoveries who somehow caught my attention (but NEVER by asking for a gig). The vast majority I already know personally, having met them at festivals, concerts, etc. The exceptions are almost exclusively musicians from Ireland, Scotland, England, and the Canadian Maritimes.

Unless you are already a favorite (in which case you probably already know it), there is no chance that I'm going to book you. I have close to 2000 folk CDs, lots of LPs and cassettes, and about 200 hours of concert recordings. We have 24 hour folk radio in the Boston area and there are excellent webcasts that I try to listen to. I teach a course on music and math that involves lots of listening. I have no time or desire to listen to unsolicited CDs from people looking for a gig, and I can't keep up with the recycling.

So, who are my favorites?

I've already presented nearly all of my favorite singer/songwriters. I'm looking for slots to have some of them return. Three I can think of who haven't played here yet are Devon Sproule, Caroline Herring, and Myshkin. Over the years, my taste in singer/songwriters has gotten very picky. If I discover three that I like in one year, it's a good year.

A few of the Irish traditional instrumentalists on my wish list are:

• Mary MacNamara
• Jesse Smith
• Mike & Mary Rafferty
• Cathy Custy
• Mary Custy
• Tola Custy
• Michael O'Rallghallaigh
• Liz Carroll
• Kevin Burke
• Pat O'Connor
• Dympna O'Sullivan

A few Cape Breton-style fiddlers I'd be happy to present:

• Troy MacGillivray
• Kendra MacGillivray
• Kimberley Fraser
• Andrea Beaton

There's probably a long list of Scottish, Irish and English traditional singers I could compile, and maybe an American or Canadian or two, but that will have to wait for a later date.

Some musicians use a gig inquiry as an opportunity to ask for suggestions of other venues in the area to approach. I might do this from time to time for a close friend, but I don't have time to do it for strangers. There are lists of New England venues available at http://wumb.org and http://www.music-for-robin.org .