When Tom Kemper wants to hear a good set, he doesn’t have to look any farther than his own back yard. The Lakewood resident holds a series of roughly six concerts each year at his home. He started these “East Dallas House Concerts” in 1996, when he met some folk singers at a festival and decided to host a show for them. “I built a little deck on the back of my house, used it as a stage, and invited a few friends,” he says. Since then he has invited numerous singer/songwriters to play intimate shows in his back yard. “It’s a very nice, up-close, personal event where you get to sit literally two or three feet from the artist,” Kemper says. Most of the music falls into the folk category, and the singers typically have a message, whether it’s political, social or environmental. This fits perfectly with Kemper’s beliefs and lifestyle. He owns and runs Dolphin Blue, a company that sells office products made from recycled materials. “These concerts are very congruent with that,” he says. “If I can make the world a little better for kids who are coming down the pike after me, I’m going to.”
To learn more about Tom Kemper’s House Concerts, send an e-mail to thomas@dolphinblue.com.
