by Elisa Zuckerberg, Founder of HearItThere.com January 12, 2020 
In all honesty, the underlying reason for creating HearItThere.com was completely a self-indulgent one. The intention had a broader purpose, but was intended to satisfy my own need to find and go to more live music options in Westchester and my neighboring areas. Who knew that I’d eventually create space for the exact purpose and share it with my music-loving audience!
As the founder of this website, I did my best to keep my personal and private life separate. However, these two disparate lives soon merged when my husband invited Bert Lams, from the California Guitar Trio fame and guitarist, Fabio Mittino to join us at our home to perform. We had seen them perform a couple of years prior in NYC at a “house” concert and were astonished by their skill and the beauty of their guitar arrangements. They are classically trained guitarists who have both studied under the creative genius of Robert Fripp in his “Guitar Craft” classes. They have experimented with various styles of music and written and arranged music that is more contemporary with world music influences.
When Bert said that they were touring the Northeast during the winter and would be happy to perform at our house, I had a twinge of excitement, but also a bit of hesitation. Would I be able to get a decent size audience for a show in my own home? This became really personal. This would be an opportunity to create, promote, host, and attend a special event in my own private space! It was a true merger of personal and public.
On Saturday, January 11, 2020 my husband and I hosted the first HearItThere HOUSE CONCERT! It was a perfect day, room set up, soundcheck done, but in the back of my mind I was praying that they’d cover the costs of making a sojourn to our little hamlet. We set up a very nice “merch” table to allow the artists to sell their CDs and sign autographs while mingling with the guests. Fortunately, we had a full room of enthusiastic attendees who were very generous to the musicians. It also became an eating extravaganza thanks to all the guests and was enjoyed by all. This first house concert was certainly a success!
There is no doubt their stopover from Pennsylvania to New Hampshire was worth it. After everyone left and we could contemplate the events of the evening, they reassured us that it went well. My husband and I asked both musicians about performing at house concerts versus theaters and other larger venues. They said that house shows are their favorite. Bert Lams described house concerts as “listening rooms where the attendees are fully engaged.” They talked about performing for large crowds, thousands at a time, and yet, house concerts have a special quality of their own, because of the intimate setting, and the closeness of the audience. “It is very conducive to a unique musical experience that might not be possible in a standard concert setting,” said Bert Lams.
Here’s just a sampling of the wonderful post-concert comments I received via email and by snail mail too!
“WOW!!!” “I always wondered what it would be like to have had a king, emperor or czar as a best friend and be asked by him to ‘drop by and hear some music’. That was it what it was like yesterday.” C. Wohlberg, Somers, NY
“About the wonderful opportunity you gave us Saturday night… To have experienced the level of musicianship we were treated to in your living room remains a high in our lives, and one that bears repeating!” J. Robinson, Lewisboro, NY
“It was a great event! Thanks for hosting and we are looking forward to more!” C. Holmes, Somers, NY
Our next house concert is scheduled for Sunday, March 29 at 4:00pm. Guests folk/singer-songwriters The Whispering Tree and George Mallas!
Hope to see you there! Click HERE for more information and to RSVP!
