Regular patrons of the Minstrel’s weekly concerts in Morris Township know it’s an intimate venue with great acoustics, great acts and great camaraderie.
They also know there are some nights when they just can’t make it to the show, for all the usual reasons.
On those nights, the show now will come to them.
Starting on May 5, 2017, select Minstrel concerts will be live-streamed. A service called Concert Window will charge $2 per show.
“It will increase the exposure of the Folk Project and the Minstrel to the wider world. Give us a little more cachet,” said Mike Agranoff, program chairman for the Minstrel.
“It also allows ex-pat Projectiles to keep in touch with our doings, as well as distant relatives of Folk Project member musicians to watch their kin perform at our Member Shows like Valentines Day and the Birthday Show,” he said.
The service is strictly live–no archived replays. Viewers will be encouraged to contribute to a digital “tip jar,” similar to donations made into a fishing creel at Minstrel shows.
Proceeds will be split by the artists and the Folk Project, the nonprofit volunteer organization that has been presenting live acoustic music for more than four decades.
Agranoff said he borrowed the video idea from the Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY. Performing there last year, he pocketed an extra $96 from the venue’s webcast.
Club Passim in Cambridge, MA, and Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem, PA, also are streaming concerts, Agranoff said.
The Minstrel’s maiden video voyage will be Jack Williams’ concert, at 7:30 pm on May 5. Viewing instructions are here.
This became possible when the Minstrel’s venue, the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship in Morris Township, upgraded its audio- and video system last year, Agranoff said.
But will live-streaming turn avid concert-goers into couch potatoes, threatening the reach-out-and-touch-someone vibe that makes the Minstrel so beloved?
Agranoff acknowledged that was a real concern.
“But reports from Caffe Lena do not indicate any significant loss of attendance from people choosing to sit home and watch,” he said.
“And a single fixed camera can make for a somewhat dull viewing experience that can’t compare to being there.”
