They've each paid $12 to attend the concert, money that sits in an upside-down black felt top hat near the door. All of it goes to the performers, and combined with the money from CD sales, Allard and Green drive away at the end of the night with more than $1,000, a figure much higher than most folk clubs or coffeehouses could guarantee them.

"I have done a lot of house concerts the past few years," Allard says, "and it's so wonderful for a musician. They're sort of a break from the normal touring thing — you don't have to worry about sound systems, how many people have paid at the door, what the beer sales are. To some extent it takes the business and the politics out of the music. It's still business, I guess, but you're just hanging out in someone's house, and the people who host them really, really love musicians, and they really just want to help out."

Allard admits to being skeptical when first presented with an offer to play at someone's house. "I generally love playing with a sound system and thought it would sound bad without one, and I didn't know how comfortable I'd feel in someone's living room." Then after performing a few, she felt liberated. "There's no microphone to hide behind, and it's amazing what happens when it's not there. You sing to the audience, not to the microphone. It's a very different experience than say, playing at Wolf Trap or some other large concert hall.".... These work-arounds are about flexibility and dealing with the issues of overhead - too many middlemen between the artist and the music consumer. Hear the industry moan.

Refer to the WaPo story for more and a list of links for the Washington area.