INFORMATION FOR MUSICIANS:

As The Blacksheep Ranch is quickly gaining an infamous status as one of thee New England's premier acoustic venues since it's inaugural show in May of 2007 the wanting by many musicians to perform here has become very overwhelming. Many incredible and talented artists have been emailing and calling, as well as managers and promoters wanting to know how they can get a gig here.

Well, let us say that we WANT you here as well.

Suzanne and I listen to a lot of independent music of many different genres an I mean A LOT. As a professional music photographer, I myself meet many new and exciting artists almost everyday. I am frequently surfing myspace.com's music area introducing myself to many such talented music makers.

Suzanne and I enjoy when we can introduce others to a wider range of musical territory. We don't have any specific genre of music that we have perform here, other than it must be an acoustic set. We would like to limit each performance to one solo artist, singer songwriter and each performance must be done using a PA sound system.

We do not have a preference to what level you are at as a musician. Be it that you are on a major label, a subsidiary to a major label, speaking with a major label, a seasoned performer who's traveled the world or just a beginner whose just recorded your first demo.

We at The Blacksheep Ranch acknowledge the importance and believing that supporting and nurturing young talented artist is where it all begins. We certainly welcome new artists, young and old to use the stage at The Blacksheep Ranch to hone their skills and polish their rough edges.

There are no 'headliners' or 'opening' acts here, all artist are regarded as equal whether your Bob Dylan or Peter Lucibelli.

The performers can discuss with each other in what order the line up will be or if a singer songwriter circle is something that would want to do which has been successful in the past.

We hold six shows each year, one show per month beginning in May and running through to October. The first four shows(May, June, July, & August) will be held at 5pm and the last two(September & October) will be held at 12pm due to the chilly evenings.

As there is an infinite number of talented independent singer songwriters and musicians around the world, we here at The Blacksheep Ranch will not be able to accommodate all artist that want to perform here. As we mention before, we only hold six shows per year and have up to three artist per show.

As we are gaining popularity, we are usually fully booked for the following season one year in advance and taking names for the season after.

As I mentioned earlier, we WANT you to perform here as much as YOU want to perform here!

As I mentioned before, there are many incredibly talented artist out there and only a limited number of opportunities for artists to perform here. In order to accommodate as many musicians as we possibly can, we will be focusing on inviting only artists who have not performed here unless circumstances call for an alumni to return.

If you are a singer songwriter or involved in a full band project which normally records and performs fully electric and enjoys performing stripped down acoustic versions, we would love for you to send us a demo of your acoustic work.

You can email us at werock@snet.net or message us at www.myspace.com/theblacksheepranch , send us a link to your website or myspace site.

About the Blacksheep Ranch house concert series

At the Blacksheep Ranch you will experience music in a warm, intimate natural outdoor setting, beneath spring times starry skies through to autumns cool crisp air.

Let us invite you to take part in many musical performance by some of the worlds most incredibly talented independent musicians.

The house concerts that take place here at The Blacksheep Ranch are very different from shows you will see at great music halls, bars, coffee houses as well as many indoor house concerts. Please remember, this is not a "party" these are concerts

The Blacksheep Ranch house concert certainly has a very relaxing casual atmosphere where the artist and the music is the sole focus.

We welcome you, your family(as well as your canine family members) and friends to join us for an evening or an afternoon of acoustic music that you will most likely talk about forever.

The house concerts held here at The Blacksheep Ranch are a warm natural intimate musical experience in a relaxing out door environment for all music lovers. You will witness just some of the worlds many talented independent artists.

Where many other house concerts are more interested in booking more well known artists, here at The Blacksheep Ranch, we pride ourselves in supporting the independent musicians, the unknowns.

I have personally been involved in the local, unsigned and independent music scene since July of 1995 and have access to thousands of incredible musicians. We will guarantee for you that each show will be a mind opening, eye widening, jaw dropping, heart pounding experience whether you are familiar with the artist or not. So don't just come only because you *know* the artist or artists performing.

We do not sell tickets, nor is there a set charge for our shows. We are not a business, this is our home, these shows are for entertainment purposes and to support independent musicians only.

We would like to let you know that we do "SUGGEST" a voluntary donation of $10.00 per person over the age of 16. There is a glass jar at the entrance and although the "suggested donation is as close to mandatory, please do not let that be a reason for not coming.

If you come *with* one of the artist , and feel you don't have to donate, just remember, you are being treated to some incredible music by *other* artists as well and *they* certainly can use the money.

We work on the honor system and nobody is watching whether or not you put any money in the jar. We are very sure that the musicians would rather have many people to perform for than only having a few people there.

All %100 of the donation money collected will go directly to the musicians to split. If you are feeling generous, by all means feel free to thow in a little extra or purchase a CD from one or all of the artists.

The type of music you will find here at The Blacksheep Ranch we are sure that you will be pleasantly surprised by each show as well as the different music within each show.

Suzanne and I enjoy and support a wide and diverse array of styles and genres of music so you will be sure to find something you enjoy here. All the performance here will be stripped down acoustic performances by some of the finest singer songwriters around. You will be treated to Folk, Jazz, rock, country, pop, Americana, bluegrass, r&b, Celtic, and hip hop all done in an acoustic fashion.

The length of each show and each performance within each show may differ. We here at The Blacksheep Ranch are very laid back and have the "what ever happens, …happens" type of attitude. Usually each performer will have a 45 minute set and we try to have at least three performances by three different artist per show with about a 15 minute break in between each artist. We want to keep the flow of music going so as not to …loose anyone's interest.

Please feel free to mingle with others, introduce yourself to someone you may not know and say hello to the musicians, they are very approachable. No pre madonnas here.

As a reminder, all shows are held outdoors, we are at the mercy of the weather. If it does rain, the show will be held inside the house, though we only have enough room for approximately 30 to 40 people so please call ahead and reserve a space.

If it is raining where *YOU* are call, because it may not be raining here.

If it's a hot sunny day, bring a jacket and a blanket because the sun goes hiding on the other side of the mountain around 3:00pm leaving it nice and cool for a 5pm show.

Treat these shows like a concert in the park, please feel free to bring along a cooler of food and drinks(b.y.o.b.), a tray of goodies to share, marshmallows to roast over the fire pit, a jacket, a blanket and a lawn chair oh and certainly some bug spray. Cash to throw in the donation jar and to purchase a CD. We may have a local artist displaying art at our shows so bring some extra money, you never know, you might see something you like.

Are absolutely very welcome! And encouraged to join us here at The Blacksheep Ranch. We have a modest rock mountain surrounded by a quaint forest that over looks the yard with short trail in through and around the mountain. There is poison Ivy in some places through out the woods and a lot of briar, if the kids(and adults) stay on the trails all should be fine.

All that we ask is that you make sure the children stay off the back deck for safety reasons. Also make sure the little ones stay off and away from the stage, again due to safety reasons.

SEATING

We can comfortably accommodate approximately 125 to 200 people spread out on the lawn. If you do join us for a show, when you arrive, please situate yourselves as close to the front of the stage as possible so others arriving after you can follow suit and we can get as many people on the lawn comfortably as possible.

Are also very welcome, though, only YOU know whether they will be friendly enough around the children and or other animals. Please be responsible.

Although we are not fully accessible in this area, we can and will try to accommodate the best we can.

If you let us know in advance, we can leave a space in the driveway for any vehicles that need the space. We have a porta - potty on the property, if help is needed, help will be given.

For any families with newborns, will graciously say you may use the house bathroom for any changing or feeding issues.

Due to these being outdoor events, we cannot maintain a allergy free environment. We also would like to ask that you be courteous to those around you. Please avoid wearing any perfumes or colognes as some people may be sensitive to these scents as well as these perfumes and colognes do attract mosquitoes and other bugs.

If you need to use bug spray, please have consideration for those around you and apply it in an area of the property where there is no one around or any food.

It also has been discovered that some aerosol sprays have and will burn the grass.

For the smokers, all we ask is that you respect those around you and keep in mind which way the breeze is blowing. Please refrain from throwing any butts on the lawn, please use any trash receptacles.

Just to let you all know that when all the evenings musical performances are done, the Blacksheep Ranch is still hopin'. We invite anyone who wishes to hang around after each show to mingle and chat, to sit around the fire pit and relax and roast some marshmallows, toast to good music. If you are a musician attending, always bring your guitar, if anyone wishes to break out a guitar and play and sing we very much enjoy such an impromptu unplugged performance on the stage or around the fire pit.

DIRECTIONS AND PARKING:

We are located at 121 Ironworks Rd in Clinton, Connecticut. Many folks now seem to have a GPS unit, if you don't and need exact direction to The Blacksheep Ranch, we will be glad to give them to you because we want you here! You can either email me at werock@snet.net or call my cell phone at 860 304 - 3056. Please try to do this a few days prior to the show due to the fact that we will be busy sending out invites, planning and setting up for the shows a few days in advance as well as the day of each show.