Introducing: Séance Listening Room
I'm creating the kind of gigs I love playing.
It’s been in the works for a little while, and I’m finally thrilled to say tickets are live for the first few shows of my new music series, Séance Listening Room!
Wait, what?
Yes, I’m starting a music series! I eventually hope to create a music venue, too.
I’ve been toying with the idea of starting my own music series for years. When I lived in Atlanta, I booked two different series (one for a restaurant that had a beautiful outdoor space, one for a bustling multi-use property that wanted folks to stick around in the evenings). I found that I really liked reaching out to artists to offer them gigs, and I enjoyed being partially responsible for creating great cultural experiences for audiences.
After spending a big chunk of last year on the road, I learned a lot about what I personally considered a “good gig”. It wasn’t necessarily always the huge theatres with the most amenities - in fact, one of my favorite shows last year was at a small independent bookstore which doesn’t typically have shows but really wanted to host us! I noticed a pattern with the gigs that felt like really good ones: the great gigs provided a sense of feeling cared about as an artist, being able to connect with the audience, and feeling like there was some kind of community-building thing happening with the show itself.
In February, I attended the Folk Alliance International Conference, and spent a lot of time talking to Folk & Americana artists about what made a “good gig”. Over and over I heard some of the same complaints: Venues taking huge chunks from ticket sales, bad merch cut deals, disorganized load-ins, and places where there wasn’t a set expectation of a listening room. There are also days that are harder to book than others, and every day on the road without a show is a day that costs an artist money. Many artists also talked about the things they loved, and often mentioned house concerts as especially gratifying (and I agree).
Back home in Durham, I decided to create a house concert series of my own that emulated the kinds of shows I love to play.
It’s on Sundays, a day that can be hard to book when you’re touring.
Shows are early, 6-8pm, so that artists (and audiences) can have a restful night heading into the week.
$1 from each ticket sale goes to a local community organization, and the rest of it goes right to the artist. I don’t take a cut from their tickets OR their merch sales.
It’s a Listening Room! At a listening room, the music is the focus. That means that audiences and artists get an intimate experience and can connect to the music and the experience without a lot of distraction.
Tickets are sliding scale, to allow more access for those who can’t always afford to see live music.
It features both established and up and coming Folk & Americana artists that might not otherwise be able to make Durham a stop on their tours.
A tactic I use with a lot of my Big Dreams is to tell people about it even when it’s a baby idea. This keeps me accountable, but it also often has the side effect of people coming out of the woodwork to offer support! As soon as I started talking to my new friend David Young Oh at Radical Healing about my idea, he offered me use of the beautiful courtyard garden (“The Haunt”) on their campus. Another new acquaintance offered up the use of their community space to house artists from out of town. Friends have offered up their skills in marketing, their A/V equipment, and lots of other forms of support and we haven’t even started yet.
Also, it turns out I love sending booking request emails to artists. I get such a thrill from sending an email to someone whose work I admire and saying “Hey, you’re wonderful, can I please give you money and an audience?” It’s way more fun than sending emails to book myself, honestly.
Why “Séance”?
I know it’s a quirky name, but it has a couple of layers I really love. One - my degree is in Religious Studies, and I have spent a lot of time researching and being interested in the Spiritualist and Theosophic movements in the U.S. These are the late 19th Century - early 20th Century folks who popularized séances as both spiritual events and a theatrical form. There was a lot of controversy around them at the time, but séances had a definite cultural moment that I find fascinating.
Regardless of whether séances were “real”, they were events that fostered connection, emotional catharsis, and entertainment. This is the kind of vibe I love at a good show. The word itself comes from French for “session” or “sit”, which that can apply to concerts, too!
(And, let’s be honest, it leaves me room from some really fun Victorian-parlor-inspired decor in the future.)
Ok, so when is the show?
The first show in the series is coming up soon, on Sunday, June 23rd!
I’m so excited to have pals I knew way back in Atlanta, catherine the great and Amy Andrews, kicking off the series. None of us live there now, but I’m so grateful to the Atlanta music community for having connected me with these incredible artists…and now I get to introduce them to you!
Then, coming up in July, the fabulous Jess Klein will grace our stage. August’s show with Emily Henry and Mollylele will also be my birthday party, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate.
I’ll be keeping y’all updated here with SLR info as we move forward this year, but please also find us at seancelisteningroom on Instagram, and we’ll be building a separate email list for Séance when I get the website launched.
Tickets are live for our first three shows now!
The rest of the season will be announced shortly, and I’m already booking amazing folks into 2025.
If you’re in Durham or have pals here, please send them our way. We can’t wait to share in some great music and raised spirits.
Xo,
Juliana
💙 This is so cool! Well, except for being 6+ hours away. 🙃