What the press say

The trend for people to give house concerts is growing. Lot’s of artists have them in their schedules these days. You may think it an alien concept or one only for those of us who are lucky enough to own houses of palatial size. In fact, as Mark and Linda Wignall have proven, all you need is a simple space in your house to accommodate a few friends, and a love of the music to take the idea forward.

The two artists Mark invited me to see were on following days over one weekend. The performance area was his living room, with a real fire, a dog that wandered through, and a welcome as warm as it sounds.

Angie Palmer is always a favourite and this was an intimate and informal set. It was a solo set, with Angie re-visiting her back catalogue, and bringing out a couple of songs from those first two cd’s which are now out of print. ‘A Case of You’ a Joni Mitchell song, is from the first cd. Her own ‘A Long Way from Paris’ is from the second, and certainly deserves a wider audience. The core songs were long time favourites. In this atmosphere it was as fine and relaxed a performance as one could have wished for. My particular favourite was ‘Columbus For a Day’, which I always ask for, but has never been ‘in the bag’ until this show. That’s how relaxed it all was.

Sheena Grobb is from Canada, where her career is taking off. She told me what a thrill it was realising she was performing on a show with the people she’d admired when she was growing up. This was her first visit to the UK to play, and the first gig of a short tour. Sheena had come with her guitar, but she’s primarily a pianist, and Mark had acquired a keyboard, an e-bay special, just for the gig. The songs, accompanied by either instrument were mainly her own from her new cd ‘Grow’ with a couple of covers thrown in. It’s a ‘getting over divorce’ record, with songs of anger, optimism, and moving on. She has a clear voice and a bag full of expressive songs. We’ll probably hear more from her soon.

So what else do you need to know about Mark and Linda’s House Concerts. The house was easy to find, with flashing blue lights at the gatepost. Parking is in the road or in the yard at the rear. You can bring your own drinks or get tea and coffee. Mark’s website has details of upcoming gigs, and you need to e-mail to get an invitation. And that’s it; simple really.

Published Date:
12 December 2009 By Chris Visser It's not every day that you have an award-winning music artist performing in your own front room.But that's what school caretaker Mark Wignall has managed to achieve after signing up Canadian duo Madison Violet to sing at his house after they won the vocal group of the year award at the Canadian Folk Music Awards.

Dad-of-one Mark, who lives on Moss Lane, Little Hoole, is the latest
Lancastrian to offer his home as a music venue after Brindle's
Graham Patterson started gigs in his conservatory.

Mark already has seven artists lined up for his new venture next
year, including Madison Violet on January 29, who have featured on
Bob Harris'Radio 2 show.

Mark, 45, said: "I called up their agent and I am delighted they
agreed to come to perform their only gig in the North-West in my
house on their UK tour.

"House performances are a very old tradition going back more than 100 years. We are stepping back in time and it's much more
intimate.

"When people watch television or go to large gigs, they think the
musicians on show are the only ones available but that is far from
the truth.

"We like true music and this is a way for artists to perform in away
you can even feel their breath.

"We are trying to keep music alive and have artists that aren't on
the main radar but should be."

Visit the website at www.houseconcertslancs.co .uk for more details