Firstly, you need to know that we’ve got a cat, because one of our children wanted one. But this cat has hunting instincts and we know that she has been very active during springtime when the birds are breeding. I love birds, so….Grrrrrr! Read through to the end to discover why this is at all relevant to anything….

I’m contemplating a slightly different way of holding Homesongs when I host them after our gig in September. It might suit me better.

At the moment I’m inviting or being contacted by artists who then travel to Campbeltown to perform. I, as the host, then become the local promoter, because I live here and the artists usually don’t.

But one feature of our Homesongs that I have always enjoyed is the time when those members of the musical members of the audience perform a song or two. And we’ve sometimes had whole gigs like that.

I’m thinking about having a regular date when I host a Homesong, the last Friday in the month for instance, in which we have a kind of open mic for local artists in the house for anyone who wants to come. And then IF an artist from further away wants to play, they can get in touch and the evening of their visit could be split into two halves: the open mic, followed by a break, followed by a set from the visiting artist.

The point being that the event would be a regular happening anyway, and there wouldn’t be the stress that can arise for a host: will there be an audience for this artist who I’ve invited?

That’s not to say that the other way doesn’t work. It has and does, and might suit other Homesong hosts. But something like I’ve described is even more grass roots, and more in the spirit of the old style ceilidhs.

It’s all a work in progress. And the truth is that there is always, as they say, more than one way to kill a cat. Ahem.

ps. Obviously, just kidding. But my apologies to cat loving readers (Rosie!:-)