Charlie A’Court – Live Webstream!

I am so excited to be working again with Charlie A’Court! Charlie has put together a collaboration of the Squirrels In The Attic venue with another house concert presenter to bring those of you who cannot attend – a webstream of an upcoming house concert.

Charlie will be performing at a house concert in Bedford, Nova Scotia on Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 8PM Eastern time.

Now, watching a webstream is cool, but live is better.. there are still a few tickets left, so if you are in the area, please contact:

lola.doucet@ns.sympatico.ca

to be there in person.

However, should you wish to join us via the wonder of “teh interwebs”, mark your calendar, and join us live here:

http://www.charlieacourt.com/webcast.html/

It promises to be a blast. You will be able to watch the broadcast at the above link, and should you choose to go one step further, you will be able to chat with the other webstream watchers by signing up at Ustream. There is a chat box alongside the broadcast window.

What great fun! Thanks Charlie!

Our Hearts Are With Taylor’s Family and Friends..

Information has just hit the news that Sunday’s house concert performer, Taylor Mitchell, has died. She was the victim of a coyote attack while hiking yesterday in the Cape Breton Highlands.

Steve and I are sending every thought and ounce of healing energy we have to her family, management, and friends at this very devastating loss. Taylor was excited to have two days off after our concert, and was thrilled at the thought of hiking in Cape Breton.

Taylor was in our home fewer than two days, but while here she blended in like she was one of our own. Steve and I would have had her stay forever, we liked her that well. We cannot imagine the depth of the loss those who love her are feeling.

The house concert went off without a hitch for those of you who are wondering. Except for our two year old constantly wanting to get on stage with her – which she took in stride. Her poor fingers were blistered from playing guitar so much – but she weathered on like a trooper, played flawlessly, and sang like the songbird she was.

Her songs are touching and personal, and were delivered with clarity of voice and spirit. We are so fortunate to have experienced this, and consider it a gift to have had the pleasure of her company.

~Maureen and Steve~

Reminder – House Concert October 25th, 2009

UPDATE October 25th, 2009

IT’S CONCERT DAY!!!

Here’s the link – please visit us if you can – we will be starting 2PM Atlantic time.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sitaconcerts-presents-taylor-mitchell

______________________________________________________________________________________

Our Taylor Mitchell house concert is this Sunday – 2PM Atlantic time. If you are attending, please drop us an e-mail if you can – so we know how many chairs we will need to have. If you don’t already know where we are – we will provide location details when you call or e-mail, as well.

sita01@eastlink.ca

If you are wondering how we came to choose Taylor for our second house concert – well, it’s all about something that Charlie A’Court refers to as the cycle of empowerment.

Taylor’s management contacted us to ask if we would present her in a house concert while she is touring. We had a few requests from different artists, and were not sure if we would accept any of them, because we weren’t planning another concert again so soon.

Nevertheless – we were pleased to listen to Taylor’s music, and once I received the promotional package, and got to reading the material and seeing the credits on the album – I noticed this:

In 2006, Taylor met Suzie Vinnick, a Maple Blues award-winning artist. The two forged an instant connection, and went on to co-write two songs that appear on “For Your Consideration”.

That caught my attention. You see, I was introduced to Suzie Vinnick’s music through Charlie – he has mentioned that he admires her, and she also does background vocals on his “Bring On The Storm” album. She is a wonderful artist.

So, Charlie likes Suzie, I like Suzie – Suzie likes Taylor…. well you get the picture – cycle of empowerment.

Hope you can join us – we are really looking forward to the show!

Taylor Mitchell – October 25th, 2009

Well, there’s a new house concert in the works to tell you all about! You know, when we started these things, we didn’t plan to do two within two months of each other, but here’s the thing – we were impressed with the information we received about this young (19 years old! WOW!) artist, including the people that she has had the opportunity to work with.

We’ve have listened to Taylor’s music, and think it is just right for our venue.  Basically – too good an opportunity to pass up.  There’s something here for you – folk rock, a little country, pop, roots.  All delivered with a beautiful voice and heartfelt emotion. Taylor is touring in support of her recently released album For Your Consideration, I’ve been listening to it for awhile now, and I really, really, like it. Samples can be found on her MySpace page, linked below. I mean, an album that starts out with:

I was born beneath a smoky light
you couldn’t faze me if you tried

shows great promise, don’t you think?

We are planning a matinee show this time, it will start at 2:00 PM. We will be providing soft drinks and water. You are welcome to bring your own “sociables”, but please also bring your own designated driver. Again – bring a finger food item to for either the intermission or after the show – we’ll play that by ear!

Please contact us at sita01@eastlink.ca to purchase tickets, we have permission to webstream live – so out of town friends and fans, mark us on your calendar and watch this space for the link.

Please check back for more information as I get around to adding it.

Check out Taylor and her music here:

http://taylormitchell.ca/

and here:

http://www.myspace.com/taylormitchellband

Aftermath, and Thank You, Charlie

Well, the inaugural Squirrels in the Attic House Concert – was a huge success… despite our little challenges, hurricane, technical glitches, whatnot.

First and foremost, we want to publicly say a huge thank-you to Charlie A’Court, who was the perfect choice for our concert. Charlie was personable, flexible, and entertained the crowd like nobody’s business. He meeted and greeted, posed tirelessly for pictures, hung around for a little one on one time with us after all our guests had left, and just gave so much more than we expected – a three-song encore, and at the request of my husband – he sang the most blusey-soulful rendition of “Happy Birthday” to me that I’ve ever heard.

The music was stellar, just stellar. Charlie inspires awe….. such is the nature of his gift. Couple with that his sparkling personality, professionalism and quick wit, and it’s a combination that just can’t be beaten.

There’s more to come later, a few photos, maybe a video or two… I just need a little time to work on the media. Stay tuned!

Charlie describes his "Silent Guitar"

There’s Good news and Bad News….

The bad news is…

Ustream and all the other webstreaming sites we tried today seem to have some sort of glitch.

The good news?

We have audio. So you can listen, you just can’t see.
We are so sorry – we have dedicated countless hours to fixing this today, it was working last night, but it’s not just us. Many, many webstreamers are having the same issue, we aren’t in control of the problem. We’re so sorry.

So, here’s the URL:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sitaconcerts-presents-charlie-a-court

Listen and enjoy.

New Squirrels

4Squirrels brother and family has arrived!   BRING ON THE STORM.

MUBS (posting on sis’s account)

Bring On The Storm…

Not just a song title.

I don’t think there’s any doubt now, that Hurricane Bill will be visiting us on Sunday. Nevertheless, we are ready to go, the house is prepared, we will have a generator on stand-by, so we hope everyone can make it to the concert, and will have a good time.

Plans for the live webcast are still on, please check back here for the link watch live.  I’ll post it when I get the broadcast set up.  Tests have been great!  We will be streaming on ustream.tv.

News and Updates..

Will be posted here – watch this space. 

The long range forecast calls for intermittent showers on August 23rd.  Here’s hoping it will be nice enough to follow through with our plan to hold the concert outside.  We really do have the ideal setup.   A concert under the stars would be so much fun!

Update – Tues. Aug 18 – Looking “iffy” for the weather – Just cross you fingers that “Bill” doesn’t come into play!  Mr. Squirrel and I were talking about the intermission.. it’s only 15 minutes long or so, so if you plan to bring a finger food item, please make sure it’s something to just pick up and eat, we won’t have a lot of time 🙂 .  Remember, we are supplying soft drinks and water – you provide anything else.

Our lawn has a little slope to it, so if you prefer to sit on a blanket or something, you will have a great view.  Remember to bring your own outdoor seating.  If we have to move inside, we will have chairs ready for that.

More news to come!  Continue to check back!

Update Friday Aug 21, 2009 –  Well, we’ve resigned ourselves to having the concert inside,  seeing as how Bill is set to drop on us just as Charlie takes the stage.  No matter, we’ve ample space, people will be comfortable.  Remember, we’re providing inside seating – no need to bring a chair.

Exciting news!!  For our out of town friends, family, and fellow Charlie/music fans, we will be streaming the concert live on the web!!   I will post here on Sunday about how to access the live stream, cross your fingers that Bill doesn’t knock out our power…

Welcome to Squirrels In The Attic House Concerts

We’re new to this, new to it all… blogging, house concerts… so please be patient with us.

I have set up this blog as a means to communicate and provide updates about house concerts, specifically, our house concerts… starting with our inaugural house concert with East Coast Award Winning, soul and blues singer/songwriter/guitar wonder, Charlie A’Court.

House concerts are a way for a performer and audience to have an intimate interaction in the comfort of a person’s home.  There are many benefits to this process, the participants get to meet the artist and watch a show from a close up perspective.  The performer is able to interact freely with the audience if he/she so chooses, maybe even try new material, and of course, play a venue where there is no or little overhead.

 If you are in the Halifax area and wish to attend – please contact us at sita@eastlink.ca

Find out more about house concerts here:

http://www.acousticroof.ca/index.asp

We are listed as a venure, and our concert is also on the schedule.

Find out more about Charlie A’Court here:

http://www.charlieacourt.com

Please check back often, especially if you plan to attend, we will post updates and information yuo will need to know.

Such fun!