Singer-songwriter Todd Carey recently ended his first tour of groundbreaking concerts titled “Sail Into Summer.” The concerts, held in private homes and intimate venues throughout the US and UK, spanned five months and forty shows — culminating with a sold-out performance in England’s historic Southampton castle.

Touring, live performances and audiences

“Sail Into Summer” featured live performances of the chart-topping singles that have endeared Todd to audiences of all ages. From May to October, fans from around the world followed him through recordings and behind-the-scenes video logs documenting every leg of the tour.

“It was insane, but a lot of great ideas are insane,” Todd mused via a recent phone interview. “It’s something that I felt was special because I don’t know anyone else who did it for the length of time we did.”

Whether playing to a homey crowd of eighteen, or a venue of eight hundred, Todd and his band always made an effort to hang and mingle with party-goers in between the song sets.

“As a performer, I get more energy from seeing crowds of fifty people or more,” Todd explained. “Crowds of under twenty people become more of an acoustic experience, but I still always try and get a dance vibe going. I want everyone to have fun and feel good.”

In sharing an entire tour through well-produced video logs — included camera tracking and drone footage — Todd discovered a new element of fan involvement by enmeshing fan-shot concert footage alongside his own team’s professional videography.

“I’m promoting more fan collaboration in the future,” Todd stated, noting that, thanks to a successful Kickstarter, he will stage more private home concerts in 2019 and beyond. “This is something that has been really successful and a big part of my career. I want to keep it going.”

Concerts, mashup segments and fans

Todd made sure that every concert was different and not all the songs were performed in the same order.

He also ensured that each crowd would get to be part of his “mashup” segment where audience members select over a dozen songs for Todd and the band to turn into one long and comprehensive song on the spot.

“I’m an original pop artist, not a cover artist, but the mashup segments are a lot of fun,” Todd proclaimed. “I also debuted eight new songs from my forthcoming album on this tour, and most of the fan feedback was incredibly positive.

It’s cool when you’re playing live and explain to people that the song is debuting! Their reactions are an important part of my craft. I know by listener responses which songs I should really focus on.”

Since in-home tours have become the focal point of his career, Todd is excited to see the series evolve — especially as more and more fans pool resources to make every venue as special and memorable as possible.

“I love what I do,” Todd stated. “I want to make people happy with my Music, and the success of the live shows proves that I am succeeding.”