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Red Deer couple hosting live acts in their living room

When four-year-old Kate Jeans sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in her dining room, she’s not just a kid having fun — she’s an opening act.
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Laura and Andy Jeans have been the host to 16 home concerts in the past three years featuring musicians travelling through Red Deer.

When four-year-old Kate Jeans sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in her dining room, she’s not just a kid having fun — she’s an opening act.

Kate gets to open concerts pretty regularly, since her parents turn their Red Deer home into a performance venue for professional up-and-coming musicians from across Canada.

For the past three years, Laura and Andy Jeans, along with their children and shaggy dog Abby, have hosted 16 concerts in their Deer Park bungalow that have each drawn from 20 to 50 audience members.

The Jeanses’ spacious dining room has resonated with the Canadiana country music of Calgarian Tim Hus, as well as Tim Williams, Brooke Wylie and the Coyotes and a whole ream of roots, folk and blues artists, including Ottawa’s Brock Zemen.

Edmonton folkie Cory Danyluk and guitarist Dan Walsh are the next performers headed to the Jeans’ joint on Saturday.

Music lovers who show up on the couple’s doorstep are mostly friends and friends of friends who’ve heard about the concerts through word-of-mouth advertising.

They turn over $20 for admission, or $25 for a ticket that includes a meal — for not only do the Jeanses feed and put up performers for the night, they even throw a barbecue or make a turkey dinner for the audience during weekend events at their home.

After recouping their dinner investment, all of the money goes to the artist, said Laura. “We don’t take anything for the venue.”

But the couple, who are always gifted with free CDs and T-shirts, feel the richer for having live music happening in their 2,300-square-foot, ranch-style surroundings.

Besides getting a charge out of the electrifying atmosphere that comes with having original songs performed in their dining room (minus the table and chairs that are pushed aside), “we’ve made a lot of new friends through the process,” said Laura.

“We just get so much back,” said Andy, who reflects on the great vibe that’s created by each singer. “We think, isn’t this a fun bunch of people to be involved with — such good friends.”

The cleaning business owner and stay-at-home-dad got the ball rolling on the house concerts when he agreed to stage one back in 2008 for a friend, singer/songwriter J.P. Reimens, from his hometown of Burford, Ont.

“My first thought was, that sounds like a lot of fun,” said Laura, a child rehabilitation administrator, who sings and plays the piano. Laura has always shared Andy’s love of music — she recalled the two even went to a concert in Camrose on their second date.

Their first-ever house concert with Riemens turned out so well that Riemens referred other fellow musicians to the Jeanses — and so did his guitarist, Dan Walsh.

In the inter-connected world of music, it didn’t take long for demand to increase, said Andy.

Now 10 of the 16 house concerts the couple have hosted were held in the last year, and it’s getting to the point where the Jeanses have had to turn some musicians away because they don’t want to overextend their audience.

The couple, who feel they are doing what they can to support hard-working artists, would love it if another local family stepped forward and agreed to put on house concerts, too.

“You won’t get a Garth Brooks performing in your house, but you might be the first to say, ‘Hey, I knew that singer when. I saw him when he was just a guy performing in a dining room,’ ” said Andy.

The Jeanses know that many performers struggle to tour Canada on a shoestring.

“We hate turning anyone away,” he added, noting the musicians he’s met are so talented and dedicated that he enjoys helping them out.

Some local discussion has lately centred on whether Red Deer is big enough to support an official small concert venue after the announcement of the impending closure of The Matchbox.

While many area bars feature live music, Laura believes some up-and-coming performers prefer to play in a more intimate setting, where the crowd is there primarily to appreciate their original music, not just drink and visit with friends.

“It’s not like it’s perfectly quiet here. Our events are lively and interactive — but when someone shouts out ‘(Play) Copperhead Road!’ It’s a joke,” Laura said with a chuckle.

Anyone interested in attending a Jeans’ house concert — or hosting their own house concert — can call Andy at 403-357-4728. More information is also available on the couple’s Facebook page or from www.gotoagig.com.

lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com