This company is looking for SC backyards to host a Nashville concert. How you can host

Amanda Hadstate didn’t imagine that her backyard would become a stage for Nashville musicians. But thanks to a little help from her friends, her home became the first stop in the Myrtle Beach area to host such a concert.

Hadstate’s home, which sits along the Intracoastal Waterway, provided a spacious outdoor space for not only the musicians, but 75 of her friends and family.

“This is the first time I’ve ever done anything like this,” Hadstate said.

Hadstate’s home was chosen by Backyard Music Co., founded by singer and music artist Scotty James and his girlfriend Andrea Watson, after a number of her friends tagged her in a social media post by the company seeking homes in the Myrtle Beach area. The company offers intimate-style concerts in backyards across the U.S. and Canada, James said. Anyone can apply on the company’s website to host a concert.

The idea came during COVID-19 when James, who is based in Nashville, would share his music in neighborhoods because as other music venues were shut down.

The concerts are inspired by Nashville’s legendary The Bluebird Cafe, a listening room where singers perform their own songs and audiences sit and listen.

On this Saturday night, the sun was just beginning to sink as guests mingled in Hadstate’s two-story home, on her rooftop terrace, around the infinity pool and covered patio and across the bridge that leads to her double-deck boat dock. The dock has its own space, complete with kitchen items, swings and an amazing view of the waterway. Hadstate lives at the home with her four children and husband, James.

Hosts of the backyard concerts can decide whether to make the event private or public. Those attending purchase tickets, at a cap of 100 people to help keep the concert small and intimate, James said.

Tickets to the Myrtle Beach event were $50. The ticket sales help pay for the musicians who perform.

Attendees, who brought their own chairs and beer, settled in to listen to Nashville-based singers Bailey Jeffko and Conner Christian perform. Jeffko, a pop/soul singer, and Christian, who sings rock tunes, both performed their own songs.

The musicians, along Ryan Harner, the company’s business operation manager, drove to Myrtle Beach from Nashville.

Harner said those wanting to host a concert can choose any date and any city, and the company will provide the musicians.

While there currently isn’t another concert set for Myrtle Beach, there are several concerts planned for May in Wilmington, North Carolina, Harner said.

Hadstate was happy with the turnout, describing it as “a small group of friends ... just hanging out.”