"In Munich stands a Hofbräuhaus"... and the Allianz Arena and many small live music clubs and pubs. The beautiful city on the Isar is more than Oktoberfest and white sausage and has made quite an impact in the German music scene. Blumentopf, Sportfreunde Stiller, Moop Mama or veterans like Münchener Freiheit or the Spider Murphy Gang are familiar to many live music fans in Munich.
Find artists in MunichMunich's music life is broader than its postcard image suggests. The Glockenbachviertel and Haidhausen carry the independent scene, the Unterfahrt has been one of Germany's best jazz clubs for decades, and the city's classical institutions are world class. There is a strong Bavarian streak running through it too - Spider Murphy Gang and the bands that followed proved local dialect and rock go together perfectly well - alongside a newer generation working in folk, soul and electronic music.
Two things keep the supply of players unusually high. The Hochschule für Musik und Theater turns out classically trained musicians every year, a good number of whom stay and play far beyond the concert hall, and the venue ladder is still intact: Milla and Feierwerk for the small rooms, Muffathalle and Backstage a rung up, Tollwood and the Olympiapark in summer. Walk the gravel banks of the Isar on a warm evening and you will hear people playing for nothing at all.
Munich is an expensive city to put on a concert in, which is precisely why house concerts make sense. A living room costs nothing to hire, and the city's Altbau flats have the ceilings and the floor space to take a duo or a small band comfortably. In summer the calculation gets even easier: Munich's garden and courtyard culture turns any decent outdoor space into a venue for an evening.
It helps too that Munich audiences are used to listening. A city with this much classical programming has a lot of people who can sit still for forty minutes, which is exactly what an acoustic act hopes for. Hosts here tend to open a courtyard or a garden through the summer and move indoors from October, and plenty run their concerts as a small series rather than a one-off, inviting the same circle back two or three times a year.
A living room concert is exactly what it sounds like: a professional musician plays a full set in a private home, for an audience the host has invited. You will see the same thing called a house concert, a house show or - because of where we started - a SofaConcert. They all mean the same evening.
There is no stage, no ticket desk and no support act. A typical concert in Munich runs 60 to 90 minutes, often split into two sets with a break, in front of anywhere from 15 to 50 guests. Most take place in an Altbau living room, a courtyard or a summer garden. The artist brings whatever they need; you provide the room and the people.
Everything you need to plan, folded into the order you'll actually do it.
Pick a date and a room - thirty people fit a living room more easily than you'd think. Then browse the artist list for a singer-songwriter, duo or band.
Send as many free enquiries as you like. Each artist replies with a non-binding offer, so you can weigh up a few before choosing. Settle the scope in writing in the booking system - that written record is what the contract is based on.
Confirming creates the contract and reserves your date. You deposit the fee plus the booking fee, which is held in trust and only released to the artist after the concert. You then get their contact details to sort out the last bits.
Browse Munich and Bavarian acts, send free enquiries and book the one that fits your evening.
A few of the acts playing around Munich.
List your space for free and touring artists apply to play your living room. You pick whoever you like the sound of, and you're never obliged to say yes - here is what hosting involves.
You would be joining people all over Europe who open their doors a few times a year and have turned their living room into somebody's favourite venue.
Some of the most recent spaces to join.
The choice can feel overwhelming. Don't worry - we'll help you.
Tell us the details of your concert and any particular wishes, and we'll do the rest.