As new house show venues pop up and veteran venues prepare to re-open their doors to University students, there’s been an increasing effort to create an enjoyable environment for audience members.

House shows are similar in concept to house parties, with renters opening their doors for students to socialize and take in the atmosphere. The venues are also a space for smaller local bands to perform for audience members.

House shows, and the students who organize them, are dedicated to creating an environment where everyone to experience live music near campus. With sometimes hundreds of people attending these shows, organizers have quickly become aware of the chaos and mess that may occur.

Keaton Yarber, senior in FAA and organizer of the house venue The Mirror, spoke about the atmosphere of house shows and how although most audience members respect the space, there is the occasional mess.

He spoke about one audience member in particular, who deliberately dirtied the venue.

“He looked me in the eyes and poured an entire beer out on the floor,” Yarber said. “Like, right in front of me.”

At the beginning of the semester, some veteran houses, like Waluigi’s Mansion in Urbana, released a set of etiquette rules for patrons to follow during the show to keep themselves, performers and organizers safe.

Although basic, the rules set in place by the houses were made to ensure the organizers’ living space is respected, so the audience can better enjoy local music in a safe environment.

The Waluigi’s Mansion etiquette rules can be found on its Instagram profile — @waluigismansion_cu — under its archived story titled “House Rules.”

On the list, organizers ask for audience members to respect the house and those that live within it. Patrons are also asked to be considerate of other residents living in the neighborhood, keeping in mind that the events held at the house are considered a “show, not a party.” Likewise, the organizers ask patrons to be kind and respectful to one another, and if audience members are being particularly disruptive or harmful, they’ll be removed from the venue.

Waluigi’s Mansion doesn’t allow outside food or drinks either, as the proceeds made from concessions go toward the artists.

Ryan Waldinger, senior in ACES and organizer of Waluigi’s Mansion, also spoke on the creation of the new etiquette rules.

“We want there to be a safe and welcoming environment that everybody can enjoy,” Waldinger said. “We wanted to just lay down some ground rules so that way, if someone were causing a problem or if there was something happening, we could defer to those rules.”

Although incidents sometimes happen, Waldinger said most patrons are respectful of the space, other audience members and the artists.

“I think something that’s super rewarding and cool about this community is that the people that are part of it are very much focused on local music,” he said.

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