Tony Kamel, a bluegrass musician from Texas, was set to perform last month on an outdoor stage in Eastborough.
Around 6 p.m., the crew got an update that scattered thunderstorms would be in the area throughout the night.
At any other outdoor venue, a rained-out concert is a cancelled concert.
But here, the crew pivoted to its next best option: the living room.
Kamel’s concert was part of the Farha Backyarder Concert Series hosted by Ted and Teri Farha. The couple invites a variety of artists to play small concerts at their home as they pass through Wichita.
The concerts started as a spontaneous idea in the early 2000s. Teri befriended cellist Eugene Friesen while volunteering at PrairieFest in Ark City.
She said she and Ted got the idea to invite him over for an impromptu concert after the festival one year.
“We said [to Friesen], ‘What do you think about playing in the backyard and getting a bunch of people over?' ” she said.
Ted and Teri asked people to bring their own chairs and suggested a donation to the artist. That night, the concert drew a crowd of over 100 and sparked a passion for backyard concerts.
Growing the series
Almost two decades later, the Farha Backyarder Concert Series is a full-scale operation. With help from friends and fellow music lovers, Ted and Teri turn their backyard — or in this night’s case, their living room — into an intimate music venue with an entire light and sound system.
Concerts draw anywhere from 50 to 150 people. Artists receive 100% of all donations, while also being fed and housed by Ted and Teri for the night.
The Farha Backyarder Concert Series thrives on collaboration. Ted and Teri credit friends like Bob Hamrick, Mike Glasscock, and Richard and Karen Crowson for helping with promotional materials and collecting donations.
“Everybody loves music, and we all do what it takes to hear great music,” Ted said.
Scott Martin is a longtime friend of the Farhas who operates the light and sound systems for the concerts. With over 50 years of experience in the entertainment industry, he said smaller venues like this are more fun to work on.
“I'm there to reproduce the artists’ sound, not to add or take away from it,” he said. “The best thing is being able to get their talents forward to the public, whether it's visually or audibly.”
Ted said the payoff from hosting musicians throughout the years is worth it.
“We take care of them, and it's our pleasure to do it,” he said. “It's a lot of fun. And then we hear world-class music in our backyard.”
That music includes performances from violinist Darol Anger, folk band the Brother Brothers and several Grammy award-winning artists like Melody Walker and Billy Strings.
The Farhas’ hospitable reputation is known throughout the music scene. Musicians and agents reach out often to book shows, and many return to the area to perform for years to come.
“I watch their tour schedules,” Ted said. “If they don't call me, I'll call them and say, ‘I see you're going to be in Kansas City or in Oklahoma City. How about coming to Wichita for a night?’ And if they can, they do.”
More than a show
The series has created longtime fans like Orin Friesen. He said he enjoys the intimacy that house shows have compared to larger venues.
“It's more focused on the music,” he said. “These little concerts, you can hear every nuance, and you can see what they're doing.”
Teri said the smaller crowds keep the concert series manageable and unique.
“I resist it getting too big because I think that's part of the charm,” she said. “There aren't people at the other end of the yard trying to hear the music. If we had [too] many people…it would sort of ruin it.”
Tony Kamel’s rained-in concert on June 23 was his sixth performance in the Farha Backyarder Concert Series. He included their backyard as an official stop on the tour promoting his album, “We’re All Gonna Live.”
For many artists, house concerts are more financially feasible than a larger venue with more overhead. But Kamel says it’s everything beyond the concert — the dinner conversations, the late-night jam sessions with Ted — that keep him coming back.
“When you get to know these people in this personal level, and you share these personal moments with them, you become friends faster,” he said. “I treasure their friendship, Ted and Teri both.”
No more than 20 people came to watch Kamel play as the evening’s thunderstorms rolled through the area — much smaller than the concert’s anticipated crowd.
Still, Kamel picked away at his banjo and shared heartfelt stories the same way he would have to a crowd of 200.
A true testament to the spirit of a Farha Backyarder.
