Auburn House Concerts offers private acoustic performances in an intimate setting at our home in Auburn, Placer County, California.

We began hosting house concerts in the fall of 2007. Our house has a fabulous living room space, with hardwood floor and high ceiling, that is just made for music. We also know lots of marvelous musicians, so this is a perfect fit.

If you have never been to a house concert then you must attend one: you're in for a treat! Seeing artists perform ‘up close and personal’ is a very different experience than you get in a nightclub, concert hall or festival. Minimal (if any) amplification is used, for one thing. The audience gets a chance to meet the artist after the performance.

Check out the videos made at some of these concerts.

Below is the list of musician who have performed at Auburn House Concerts.

1. New World String Project  A packed house for these four performers. John Weed (fiddle), Aryeh Frankfurter (nyckelharpa, harp), Lisa Lynn (cittern, harp, cajon), and Stuart Mason (guitar, bouzouki) presented blend of extraordinary instruments and heartwarming music in the Celtic, Nordic and American folk traditions. November 2018.
   

2. The Fire filled the house and burned it down. Rebecca Lomnicky, David Brewer and Adam Hendey; loud and fast, the standing ovation turned into dancing to the pipes and fiddle.  September 2018.
   

3. Corwin Zekley & Emma Newton wowed us with original songs and jazz standards. Emma on harp, voice and piano, Corwin on violin and voice.  August 2018.
   

4. John Doyle started the day with a guitar workshop in the afternoon and finished the night with a fine concert with lots of songs and masterful guitar. Pete Grant sat in for a few tunes on pedal steel and dobro. June 2018
   

5. Linsey Aitken & Ken Campbell filled the room with the rich cello, vocals and guitar. Everyone was able to sing along on the choruses as they handed out lyric sheets. Linsey and Ken are schedule to return to AHC in hind sight. May 2018
   

6. Steve Baughman–acoustic guitarist Steve Baughman returned (Baughman & Herold, 2010) for another fine afternoon of music. Ken Risling opened the show with a couple original songs. October 2017
   

7. Four Shillings Short (Aodh Og O’Tuama and Christy Martin) gave a delightful show, with more instruments on stage than any other concert here! August 2017.
   

8. The Quitters played a lively show, with many old favorites, to an audience of fans. Right-side up finger picker (Stevie Coyle) and upside down flat picker (Glenn Pomianek of Houston & Jones) make up this duo. May 2017.
   

9. Hattie & Joe Craven gave us a delightful celebration of music, marrying world and folk music with pop culture, with a few old standards thrown in for good measure. March 2017.
   

10. Archie Fisher sang both traditional and original songs from Scotland, accompanying himself on guitar. We had a mighty session afterwards, Archie joined us, trading tunes and songs with Peter Grant. November 2016.
    

11. Noctambule performed many original tunes using lyrics from the poetry of Theodor Roethke, W.H. Auden, Stephen Vincent Benét, Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes, Jenny Joseph, Robert Service, Pablo Neruda, Lord Tennyson, Edna St. Vincent Millay. Expert mandolin and guitar accompaniment. August 2016.
    

12. Keith Kendrick and Sylvia Needham sang English traditional and traditionally influenced contemporary songs for an enthusiastic house. May 2016.
    

13. Andrea Beaton, Dick Hensold & Dean Magraw playing music from Cape Breton for fiddle, pipes and guitar. The exuberant Celtic music of Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island reflects the dance-driven rhythms of the ancient strathspeys, reels and jigs, played with joy and drive on the fiddle, pipes, and guitar. May 2016.
    

14. Debby McClatchy lived most of her adult life near Roaring Spring, in the Appalachian Mountains, she was born in San Francisco in 1945. Her father's great grandfather came from Ulster during the famine, was a 49er in the gold rush, and founded northern California's leading newspaper, The Sacramento Bee. Debby’s road retirement concert here at AHC was full of family and friends. What a joy. Debby plans to continue playing locally, just not hitting the road any more. November 2015.
    

15. The Rosin Doctors left the bagpipes in the car, but still managed to please with both traditional tunes and some very funny original songs. September 2015.
    

16. Seabury Gould delighted us with the poetry of Rumi, tributes to Pete Seeger, traditional celtic music as well as some humor. August 2015.
    

17. Athena Tergis and Mick Moloney joined forces for an intimate afternoon of Irish & Scottish traditional music and song. March 2015. In 2018 a full day started Athena holding a morning fiddle workshop, Mick giving cultural illustrated talk after lunch, then the concert was capped off with Alasdair Frazer joining in for a couple of tunes after the break.
    

18. Nuala Kennedy delighted the Thursday not full house with song, whistle and flute tunes. She was joined by Eamon O’Leary on the guitar with a couple of songs of his own. February 2015.
    

19. Amelia Hogan with Ray Frank on guitar. An enjoyable afternoon. Amelia sang with a sweet style, and no pretension. December 2014.
    

20. Radim Zenkl drew many mandolin players then wowed them with a spectrum of original and folk music including swing, bluegrass, flamenco, gypsy and Irish.  November 2014, December 2016.
    

21. Margaret Miles was joined by Ray Frank as well as 3 members of Kitchen Cinq. They performed Margaret’s original songs as well as traditional ballads and jazz standards. The audience sang along with gusto. September 2014.
    

22. Houston & Jones filled the house with foot tapping music, stellar guitar and an appreciative crowd. July 2014, June 2017.
    

23. Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore. June 2014.
    

24. Celia Ramsay & Dave Nachmanoff, Northern California singer-songwriters, teamed up for another acoustic duo show, with Dave and Celia accompanying each other on their original songs. March 2014.
    

25. Story Road. Acclaimed traditional musicians Colleen Raney, Stuart Mason, John Weed, and Johnny B. Connolly teamed up to become one of the most exciting new bands on the West Coast. March 2014.
    

26. Michael Mullen; A Trio of One. As a solo performer on violin, guitar, and voice, Michael created a rich layered sound by looping the music created live, building from a single instrument up to a finish that was powerful clever and satisfying. July 2013.
    

27. An Evening of Harmony. Sylvia Herold felt that her voice, along with Michael Black's clear tenor, and Doug Olsen's deep bass would provide an interesting mesh of sounds.  This Auburn House Concert was their premier performance. December 2012.
    

28. Kevin Carr entertained us with My Grandfather's Fiddle, a show consisting of fiddle tunes, bagpipe melodies, songs and stories from Ireland, Quebec, Galicia and other green places. He played fiddle, banjo, uilleann pipes, Scottish smallpipes and Galician Gaita. September 2012.
    

29. Kyle Alden & Athena Tergis joined with the spirit of the great Irish poet and playwright William Butler Yeats. The concert featured Songs from Yeats' Bee-Loud Glade, a collection of 13 of Yeats’ poems. Athena’s fiddle workshop was inspirational and practical as expected. February 2012, March 2013.
    

30. Lou and Peter Berryman began their musical partnership in high school in Appleton, Wisconsin, way back in the sixties. Sixteen recordings and three songbooks later, their intelligent and wickedly funny material is never bawdy or risqué but is rich with wordplay and witty images. This duo is not to be missed. January 2012.
    

31. Patrice Haan is best known for her sultry and seductive vocal performances with Tony Marcus in the Oakland-based jazz ensemble Leftover Dreams. Her tunes are often described as beautiful, gorgeous, poetic and evocative, healing our souls and our heartache with the palpable love and the poetry of the music. November 2011, May 2013.
    

32. Frankie Armstrong beloved British folk singer and educator toured with Linda Allen, songwriter and educator. August 2011. We were fortune to have them to recognize the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in California (the sixth state to approve women's suffrage in the United States.) August 2011.
    

33. Kristina Olsen is a multi-instrumentalist as well as an award-winning songwriter with a big bluesy voice. Her mix of powerful songs ranging from sassy bottleneck blues to lilting ballads to swing jazz to raunch and roll (as well as her hilarious storytelling) makes for a diverse and satisfying musical experience. July 2011.
    

34. Megan McLaughlin honed her skills as a street performer in Paris before moving to California, where she developed an innovative guitar style. With just a hint of irony, she describes her musical genre as "girl with guitar". April 2011.
    

35. Baughman & Herold–Well known around the world, acoustic guitarist Steve Baughman offers transcended instrumental music with heart and spirit. Sylvia Herold delivers assertive guitar work, presenting songs with a clarity that is both honest and uplifting with her captivating voice. October 2010.
    

36. Rebecca Troon–Award-winning songwriter and recording artist whose goal is to be a source of love, inspiration, and healing through music. July 2010.
    

37. Euphonia–A café-style acoustic combo featuring soaring harmony vocals and sophisticated musicianship. September 2009, June 2012.
    

38. Holdstock & MacLeod–Enthusiastically performing together for over twenty-five years, with authentic renditions of the songs of their homelands. July 2009, February 2014.
    

39. Bryan Bowers–Virginia born singer, story teller and virtuoso autoharp performer. May 2009, May 2010, May 2011, May 2015, April 2017, May 2019.
    

40. Jim Malcolm–Scottish born singer, songwriter and lead singer with the world-renowned Old Blind Dogs. February 2009,  January 2010, February 2011, February 2013, January 2017, February 2019.
    

41. Gerry O’Beirne–Irish born singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist; 6 and 12 string guitar, tiple, and ukulele, slide guitar et cetera. November 2008, October 2009, April 2013.
    

42. Chris Caswell–Celtic Harpist who plays the tin whistle, Irish flute, highland bagpipes, tar (lute), English concertina, chromatic button accordion, harmonium, tambura, bodhrán, congas, briefcase, tambourine and Scotch snare. He also sings and writes wonderful songs. Chris was joined by Myra Joy on violoncello. November 2008, March 2010.
    

43. Paddy Keenan–Irish born founding member of The Bothy Band, acknowledged as the most accomplished uilleann piper performing today. August 2008 and October 2012.
    

44. Tommy O’Sullivan–London born singer songwriter performs traditional Irish and American as well as contemporary songs. August 2008, February 2019.
    

45. Pete Grant–California born Auburn musician performing on dobro, banjo, and pedal steel guitar. Pete has backs up the featured performers. August 2008, November 2008, April 2011, May 2011.
    

46. Legacy with Valerie Plested, Don Penzien and Justin Murphy–Traditional Irish music and song from the southern states; fiddle, guitar, whistle, bodhrán, flute and vocals.  July 2008.
    

47. Notorious with Eden MacAdam-Somer and Larry Unger–Traditional and contemporary acoustic music from around the world.  July 2008.
    

48. Melanie O’Reilly with Sean O'Nuallain and Richard Tibbitts or Frank Martin–Irish born singer songwriter who blends traditional Irish music and jazz; vocals, guitar, flute and whistle. November 2007, March 2009, May 2016.
    

49. Stevie Coyle–Entertainer and musician, fingerstyle and lap steel guitarist/vocalist. September 2007,  January 2009, November 2010, June 2017.
    

Check out the videos made at some of these concerts.

Northern California’s Rita Hosking sings of forest fires, culture clash, dishes, black holes and hope. An award-winning and prolific songwriter characterized as “here and now” by The Observer, she’s recently released her seventh album, For Real. Her stories, songs and soul-stirring, country-folk voice are partnered with longtime collaborator and multi-instrumentalist Sean Feder on dobro, banjo and guitar. Together, they deliver what Acoustic Magazine calls “timeless, unhurried elegance.”

“Her breed of Nor Cal country folk ain’t quite old-timey, and it ain’t quite bluegrass, but damn it’s sweet. For fans of Emmylou and Gillian, this one's a safe bet. The songs of Rita Hosking are as fragile as a newborn baby, and defiant as a West Virginia coal miner.” —Stuart Mason, Fiddlefreak Folk Review

An entertaining evening of Scots song old and new from two exceptional musicians. Alan Reid, a vital member of celebrated Scottish folk group Battlefield Band from 1969 until 2010, helped cement the band’s international status with his story-style songwriting and sensitive renditions of traditional song. Rob van Sante is noted for subtle guitar accompaniments and fine harmony singing.

Traditional Celtic music, but with unique and innovative arrangements, including a variety of songs from Britain and Ireland, accompanied by guitar and Northumbrian smallpipes (a quiet bagpipe from Northeast England), or various whistles. Also featuring traditional tunes from Cape Breton Island, Scotland, Ireland and Northumberland, with a good measure of original music in the traditional style.