Happy Hen Barn

The Happy Hen Barn is an ever-evolving labor of love for Peg and Andy Granitto outside of Yakima, Washington.  It is their “clubhouse” and refuge — an experiment in creative artifact arrangement and hoarding, and a great place for art and live music. The barn is the original structure built by Peg’s great-grandfather Charles H. Russell in 1911.

The title page image features Barn Quilt—Heavenly Star by Andy Behrle.
This projected artwork features ever-changing images of water in the Pacific Northwest. The piece was installed in the barn in 2016 as part of Larson Gallery’s Tour of Artist Homes & Studios. We encourage you to look up Andy Behrle’s work online.

This website is about 20 years old and still under construction. We are old and slow with computer stuff.
Please be patient! This is not a high priority for us.

We have several “house concerts” each year,
usually two in late spring and two in early fall.

Please send an email to:  andyhappyhen@gmail.com
for more information and to get on the emailing list.

Artists & Agents
Scroll to bottom of this page for information.

Friday, May 1, 2026
Stillhouse Junkies

Free-range folk from Southwest Colorado!

Stillhouse Junkies explore the worlds between bluegrass, Texas swing, blues, and Americana roots music.  Fred Kosak (guitar, mandolin), Alissa Wolf (fiddle), and Jeanette Adams (bass) create a free-flowing musical interplay and improvisation that makes every show unique, as the trio weave through intricately composed original songs, never taking the same path twice.  Formed in southwest Colorado in 2017, Stillhouse Junkies have performed at concerts and festivals throughout the United States, occasionally changing their lineup and continually expanding their songbook and fan base. In 2026 they are touring their new album The Ballad of Charlie Avalon.

Check out their website and online music and videos!
(Sorry, no direct links. They’re easy to find.
We’re still living in the 20th century!)

email: andyhappyhen@gmail.com for info

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New concert announcements coming soon!

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PAST CONCERTS

Concert Chronology:
Shantigroove at Our Wedding, 2005
Dan Weber, 2013, 2017
Planes On Paper. 2014, 2016
Claudia Russell & Bruce Kaplan. 2019, 2022, 2024
Rob Flax. 2019
* Covid hiatus
The Lowest Pair, 2023
Alex Ashley, 2023
Susan Gibson Trio, 2023
Dana Cooper / Michael O’Connor 2024
Mike Vitale, 2024
Christine Tassan et les Imposteures, 2025
Daniel Kimbro, 2025

Artists & Agents

Concerts in the barn happen in spring and fall, and we plan for four concerts every year.  We’ve been working with the LRN/Concerts In Your Home network to connect with artists, and we are listed as a house concert venue on their website:  https://my.listeningroomnetwork.com.  We are also listed with Undiscovered Music. 
We like to think of ourselves as a venue and respite for traveling musicians.  Concerts are intimate “listening room” performances before an attentive and enthusiastic audience, two sets with an intermission for socializing and merch sales.

Concerts happen from early May to early June and early September to early October.
The unheated barn is cold in the winter, so there are no concerts November through April.  
And it can get mighty hot during a mid-summer heat spell, so we avoid scheduling concerts in July and August.

We typically select artists in February for spring concerts, and in July for fall concerts, although we can commit to a concert sooner if we are particularly enthusiastic about the artist.  (Artists inquire about our concerts year-round; we generate a list of potential concerts and make our final selections usually in February and July.)

Happy Hen Barn Concerts are “house concerts” — technically a “private event” with no public marketing. We invite friends, take reservations, and request donations at the door.  The artist gets 100% of the entry donations (typically $20-$35), and we set up a table for merch sales.  We set our maximum crowd at 50 and set up seating for 60 (to allow last-minute friends and stragglers).  The barn can hold more, but the 50-60 number is comfortable, intimate, and manageable.  Our email list has around 250 names on it.

We have a small sound system — 2 mains & 2 monitors, a 16-channel mixing board with phantom power, 1 DI box, 4 mics (3 sm58s and 1 sm57), and six mic stands — and a “soundman” friend who can usually provide whatever else is needed.  The barn has excellent acoustics (like sitting inside the belly of a big guitar), and our audience is quiet, respectful, and attentive; some performers prefer to not use monitors; if a performer enjoys playing truly unplugged, no sound reinforcement is needed.

We provide performer lodging in the barn’s hayloft, which is an indescribable “bedroom” (king bed and twin).  The barn has a full kitchen and bathroom, and it is a wonderful place to stay (…except that you need to climb two flights of stairs to get from the bed to the bathroom, which can be a challenge for some folks).  Additional fold-out beds are also available on the ground floor.  You will be fed well, before and/or after the show (in keeping with your dietary preferences).

Projections:

We have a loyal, generous, and growing audience.  Our typical crowd is 45-55 people on a Friday or Saturday. 
The crowd is a bit smaller on a Sunday and around 25-40 on weeknights.  We prefer Saturday concerts.

We typically suggest an entry donation of $20-$35 (or more or less, depending on the nature of the artist or group), which should yield $700-$1,500 on a Saturday, before merch sales.  This is a safe projection, because people are generous and often give more than the suggested donation.  The performer gets 100% of all entry donations and merch sales.  In the past, performers have netted between $750 and $2,000 from entry donations and merchandise sales, and they are always pleased and surprised by the generosity of the audience. We can provide a more precise projection when planning for a specific concert event.

We prefer to correspond with email — andyhappyhen@gmail.com — because it leaves a paper trail,
but you can always call or text Andy at: 509-966-4030.  (Andy does most correspondence.)

Andy and Peg Granitto are retired from the Yakima Valley Museum, where they developed, designed, fabricated and installed exhibitions.

Andy has over 30 years experience in exhibition development, design, and production — following 10 years in carpentry, cabinet-making, and renovation contracting.
He has earned multiple degrees from the University of Colorado, Boulder (Art History, Anthropology, and Museum Science).
Peg was his exhibit technician and assistant at Yakima Valley Museum for 15 years.

Happy Hen, LLC is our freelance exhibition design and consultation service.
While we had intended to do lots of freelance work after leaving YVM, we found that working on the ranch and feathering our nest in the barn is more enjoyable and fulfilling. But we do provide exhibit services.
We specialize in artifact mounts, models and dioramas, replicas, gallery installations, interpretive graphics and labels, and general consultation. (See images below.)

Contact Andy at andyhappyhen@gmail.com with inquiries.

Title image at top is a section of Land of Joy & Sorrow: Japanese Pioneers In the Yakima Valley at Yakima Valley Museum, 2010.

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…& Eggs?
If you live near Yakima and are interested in farm fresh eggs,
send an email to: peghappyhen@gmail.com and ask if the ladies are laying.

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