Stanstead House Concerts Network

Five years ago (Oct 2014), when we lived in Stanstead, Quebec, we decided to invite emerging voices of music to perform in our livingroom. A whole lot of concerts later, as first envisioned, our network of improbable venues stretches from Quebec to West Virginia. We wanted to create a network of ‘safe’ zones for emerging voices where they could perform, reinvent their sound, reconnect with their musical roots – and their audience. At SHCN we believe all artists deserve to be paid for their work. We believe they deserve to be fed properly and sleep in comfortable safe environments. We believe audiences want to experience something more than merely applauding on cue in a theatre where they are separated by distance and darkness from the artist and one another. We believe we can – and need – to do so much better to encourage the next generation of artists and the audiences who will support them. We are firm believers in the power of the creative economy to make a significant difference in the quality of life and living in communities large and small. We see our network as the connective tissue bringing livingrooms and cafes and B&Bs and country inns and libraries and town halls and village meeting houses and theatres and studios and maker spaces – all sort of improbable venues – together.