Left to right Wendy Waldman, Deborah Holland, Cindy Bullens of The Refugees will perform at Dawsonconcerts 10th anniversary show in Silver Spring.

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submitteD Gene Dawson performs at a blues club in Memphis, Tenn.

Left to right Wendy Waldman, Deborah Holland, Cindy Bullens of The Refugees will perform at Dawsonconcerts 10th anniversary show in Silver Spring.

 

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While some musicians have street cred, Gene and Susan Dawson have house cred.

During the past decade, the couple’s unassuming four-bedroom house in Silver Spring has evolved into one of the hippest pit stops on the music scene.

Artists from across the country have played in the Dawson’s basement living room, surrounded by couches and about 40 chairs. Neither background bar noise nor a grinding coffee machine intrude on the music. Only softer sounds a dog’s quiet panting or someone snacking on Susan Dawson’s appetizers may vie with the guitars and vocals.

Their house concert series, known as Dawsonconcerts, will celebrate 10 years of intimate acoustic performances Friday evening with a special performance by the eclectic Americana folk rock trio The Refugees.

The Dawsons’ first attempt to hold a concert in their former house in North Potomac almost flopped when they invited a folk artist from a music festival to play a birthday party. They quickly learned that such occasions were not exactly sought-after gigs, Gene Dawson says.

But rebranding it as a “house concert” worked nicely, and the Dawsons were hooked. Gene Dawson created a website, ordered business cards and began networking and marketing Dawsonconcerts on the house concert circuit. His hard work has paid off; since that first concert in March 2001, they have hosted more than 60 shows and are now turning away artists in droves.

Guests are invited by email lists, word of mouth or by the artist. They are encouraged to donate $10 to $20 per person to the artist.

“We just love all the connections and friends and music and everything that goes with it,” Gene Dawson says. “It’s the greatest bunch of people that we’ve ever encountered.”

The Refugees, who rarely do house concerts, had great time when they played a Dawsonconcerts show three years ago. And because of that, when they learned they would be in the Mid-Atlantic this summer, they asked Gene and Susan if there was an opening for them, guitar player Cindy Bullens says.

“That just goes to show you, we definitely would not have reached out to them if we did not want to go back,” she says. “They are not just reputable. They are among the top destinations for artists like us.”

Cindy Bullens, Deborah Holland and Wendy Waldman were solo artists when they formed The Refugees in 2007. They released “Unbound,” a collaborative album in 2009, and are weeks away from releasing a second album, “Three,” which they will preview Friday for the Dawsonconcerts audience.

Each of the women of The Refugees has an impressive résumé, but lead guitarist Waldman gets an extra nod for being among the Grammy nominees or winners who have played at the Dawsons’ house. She co-wrote Vanessa Williams’ hit song “Save the Best for Last.”

Gene Dawson is proud of the talents that have performed in his humble abode, such as songwriter Richard Leigh, who wrote the country hit “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” for which singer Crystal Gayle won a Grammy, as well as Sarah Lee Guthrie, daughter of Arlo Guthrie.

“I mean, Jimmy Buffett did not show up, Joni Mitchell did not show up, Arlo Guthrie did not show up, but it was just nice to have these people who have famous parents. And here they are talking to us; some of them even stayed overnight,” he says.

Empty nesters with two daughters, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, the Dawsons keep one room for whatever family comes to visit, and one for the traveling minstrels who play the shows. After the last guest files out the door, Gene Dawson says he usually cracks a few beers and grabs his own guitar. Usually, he adds, the artist is willing to talk and jam a little longer.

“I learned how to play songs from some of these people that I never dreamed of playing,” he says. “I think it’s really unique to be able to connect to artists like that.”

The Vietnam veteran and guitar hobbyist posts original songs for download on his website. When invited, he occasionally joins the guest artists on stage. As a national real estate manager for a Fortune 500 company by day, he travels frequently, so hosting concerts on weekdays is not possible. He acknowledges missing out on some of the bigger names passing through the area by only having concerts on Friday and Saturday.

Susan Dawson wants concert-goers to feel like they are in a home to a degree.

“I don’t want it to be formal like a concert, but on the other hand, I don’t want people to come in and feel like that can put their feet up and smoke a cigarette either,” she says. “So it’s kind of in the middle there, but we try to keep it informal and friendly and cozy.”

Besides the occasional spilled beer bottle, they have never had a problem having a house full of strangers, she says.

The Dawsons, both 64, are musicians themselves, and once bought one-way tickets to Europe, playing guitar for food in Amsterdam and London.

“You gotta be young to do that,” Gene Dawson says, laughing.

Now that their lives have slowed down a bit, house concerts have provided the perfect way to keep music prominent in their life.

“We like music a lot but we don’t want to go out and play it; we’re too old. And we don’t want to stay out in a bar and play until 2 a.m.,” Susan Dawson says. “We used to do that when we were young. But we get to see great people, almost famous people, in our living room, and it gives them a chance to get known and get heard.”

ccalamaio@gazette.net

Dawsonconcerts’ 10th anniversary concert, featuring The Refugees Cindy Bullens, Deborah Holland and Wendy Waldman will begin at 8 p.m. Friday in Silver Spring. A $20 donation to the artists is suggested. Space is limited and reservations are required. Call 301-949-1888 or email dawsonconcerts@aol.com. For information on Dawsonconcerts, visit www.dawsonconcerts.com. Autographed copies of The Refugees’ new album “Three,” to be released late this summer,are available for preorder at www.therefugeesmusic.com.