Our house rules

Last Update: May 15 2022

Just a few simple House Rules for in-home concerts, expanded a bit as we navigate our way through the seemingly never-ending saga that is COVID. Please keep in mind these rules may change as the public health situation changes.
 
Since our concerts are a hobby, not a business, and held at our home, we reserve the right to exercise a little "homeowner discretion" in accepting reservation requests, turning away "drop-ins" who don't have confirmed reservations, and asking anyone not following the house rules to leave. Hopefully none of this ever happens, but in the interest of setting clear expectations ... well, 'nuff said.
 

1. The concert is about the music, so please respect the performer & the performance. When the music starts, the talking stops.
   
   
2. We always suggest a requested artist contribution for each show. This amount is chosen based on the seating capacity in place (i.e., fewer seats mean a higher requested contribution amount), to ensure the artist is fairly compensated for the evening. 100% of all artist contributions go to our artists. And contributions are voluntary - if, for whatever reason, you choose to donate less, that is your choice and you will not be denied attendance at our shows. We simply ask guests to choose their contribution amount in the spirit of our concerts - to enjoy a shared evening of great music and fellowship, while helping our artists earn a living doing what they love.
   
   
3. No smoking.
   
   And - while we're all still living with the pandemic all around us, please read over (and follow) our policy for keeping our guests safe. If you choose not to follow our rules, we'll choose to disinvite you from our home. No kidding.
    
4. Concerts will be held in our living room, with reduced seating and extra space between reservation groups. Our ceiling fan will be going and we may crack a few windows to improve ventilation, so you might want to consider bringing a sweater if it's cold outside.
   
   
5. To offset the reduced number of guests, we will continue asking each of us to contribute a little more to the artist (details may vary by concert so keep an eye on your concert invitations and our website). As always, 100% of all artist contributions go to the artists.
   
   
6. Only guests who have been fully COVID-vaccinated may attend in person. With the newly discovered Omicron variant, and because of the wide availability of COVID vaccine booster shots, our definition of “fully vaccinated” now includes a full initial dosage of Pfizer or Moderna (2 shots) or J&J (1 shot), plus a booster shot of any of these vaccines. If you are not fully vaccinated according to this definition, we will not confirm you to attend a show at our home.
   
   
7. We’ll be asking to see your vaccination card when you reserve seats (we won’t keep a copy, but we will make a note that you’re vaccinated so we’ll only need to ask once). Thanks to all of you who have already happily provided copies of your vax cards! And if you’d like to save us some time, please make sure you send us your *latest* vax card showing the addition of your COVID booster shot.
   
   
8. We believe in masks & social distancing. So, at least for now, we’re going to require that everyone wear masks when not in their seats, even though we’re all vaccinated. We strongly urge you to wear N95, KN95 or surgical masks, and to wear them properly (covering both your your nose and mouth).
   
   And we urge everyone to respect others' space; "zero contact" greetings are encouraged to avoid that awkward look if you try to hug someone who's just not ready.
   
   
9. MCC's shared table is making a comeback. We'll welcome guests bringing something simple to share with others (snacks, hors d'oevres, bottle of wine, etc). And we're going to back to opening the doors an hour before the show for those who'd like to come early and socialize with us, each other, and the artist. We’ll just ask that you keep your masks on and observe reasonable social distancing while you’re not in your seats, particularly while getting refreshments. If you have questions about our shared table, drop us a line and we'll answer any questions you have. We’ll be providing a simulcast live stream of many of our house concerts via social media, for folks who can’t (or who aren’t ready to) attend in person. Details on each live stream will be announced with each concert invitation and on our website.
   
   
10. We will leave it to the artist’s discretion to sell, and to your discretion to buy, merchandise like CDs and T-shirts. We encourage everyone to support our artists by purchasing their music & merch, either in person at the show or online.
    
    
11. We may offer an All-Ages show somewhere in the future. If we do, any child that attends must be fully vaccinated, and we will ask to see their card just as we do yours. We're just putting this out there as a possibility, since children are now able to be vaccinated. Stay tuned for more details on this one.
    
    
12. The hall bathroom off our kitchen is available for your use. There will be sanitary wipes for your use. We ask all guests to wipe down the toilet, seat, sink, light switch and doorknob when you’re done.
    
    
13. If you’re not feeling well, please stay home. The health and safety of our guests, and our artists, is most important to us, so please consider this a public health request from your hosts.
    
    

We don’t know what the future will bring, but we hope these extra steps will be temporary. And, of course, all of this is subject to public health conditions and guidelines as time goes on.

We’re always happy to hear your comments and feedback. We will, of course, keep you all posted as all of this continues to evolve.