I struggle a lot with thinking of ways to support the independent musicians that I love. I buy a lot of music and I get to shows when I can. It doesn't seem to me like it's enough though. It's hard to think that $15 for a CD here and there and a piece of the door or whatever at concert is helping considering what it costs to make a living these days.
Samantha Murphy mentioned recently on her podcast that one of the things we can do as music lovers is help to take care of artist's human needs where you can. Offer an extra bed if you have one. Give them a homecooked meal if you can cook. Being on the road can be hard and lonely and it can mean a lot to help give artists some of the comforts of home. I think it's a fantastic idea, but it's going to take some effort to work that out when you live as out of the way as I do. If you see an artist you like out there, invite them to a meal...maybe they'll say yes.
I've seen enough in my life lately to be sure that sometimes if you step out and reach out to someone, sometimes it can be just at the right time for them.
On 15 January, David St. Lawrence did a blog posting about house concerts that explained to me what they were. Read it with its links yourself for the details. I've seen some of the musicians I follow post house concerts on their schedules here and there. David's post really made it hit home for me that home concerts are a great way to help support artists and it's not scary difficult to do. I don't really have any place to do something like that in my house, but I think that's something I can actually do. It might not be this year, but whenever I make it work, I'll get the details up here. I'm excited.
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