Akron songwriter is working to bring the Northeast Ohio live music experience to audiences, virtually, with his video performance series.
He launched his online platform,, in January.
The site features a schedule of upcoming, livestreamed concerts, along with a of dozens of past streams featuring local talent.
Gage House Sessions has featured a long list of regional artists over the last year, with a new guest performing every week.
The online streaming series began as smaller, in-person concerts that took place in Gage鈥檚 home.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced him to put these shows on hold, but it granted Gage the opportunity to develop a new way for audiences to get their music fix during lockdown.
鈥淚t was cool to see it blossom,鈥� Gage said. 鈥淲e now have all these videos cataloged on YouTube. You can look back at the beginning鈥擨 didn鈥檛 exactly know what I was doing. It was a lot of trial, by far.鈥�
Capturing the local music scene
In March 2020, Gage was gearing up to host a live album recording event at in Kenmore.
Shortly after, in-person gatherings were canceled because of the spread of the coronavirus.
Before the pandemic hit, Gage had a goal of showcasing how the Northeast Ohio music community brings artists together and promotes supporting each other鈥檚 craft.
He began ramping up this effort with his original iteration of the Gage House Sessions concert series.
Gage hosted private, invitation-only, bi-monthly gatherings of musicians and music fans.
The in-person house concert series started out with Gage and a few cameras. He invited some friends over to record, eat pizza and watch the show.
"They were incredible evenings. We were so excited to keep doing them. But then, of course, the pandemic hit, and we had to innovate."Ben Gage
This idea turned into a monthly concert event, featuring three to five performers each night, 30 guests and a pre-show potluck.
Gage would film then edit the recordings and share them on YouTube after the fact.
He captured this intimate setting through high-quality audio and video via for a little more than a year.
鈥淭hey were incredible evenings. We were so excited to keep doing them. But then, of course, the pandemic hit, and we had to innovate,鈥� he said.
Connecting with area talent
Gage didn鈥檛 have much trouble finding local artists to participate in his 鈥淟ive With鈥� Gage House Sessions concerts, and when he made the shift to livestreaming the performances instead of hosting in-person events, he soon amassed a large roster of local talent.
He said the Northeast Ohio music scene is special because of its inclusivity.
鈥淢y favorite thing about music is getting on the road, but as I go to other music cities, it never feels like it has all the pieces that Akron does, or that Northeast Ohio does,鈥� Gage said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like a puzzle that鈥檚 just missing one or two.鈥�
Gage, originally from Rome, Ohio, came to Akron for college and never left.
He said he fell in love with the music community in Northeast Ohio and met his greatest friends and strongest inspirations here.
He and his brother, Zach, started the Americana-folk band in 2014.
The duo would jam to old folk songs Sunday afternoons and soon turned these jam sessions into a full-blown bluegrass band.
Gage sang and played mandolin, percussion and harmonica in the group. After the project dissolved in 2017, he began pursuing a solo music career.
Gage collaborated with local players Christine Petersilge,, Nathan Hunter and on his acoustic, in 2018.
He said his songwriting pulls heavily from his Rust Belt roots and living in one of the 鈥済reatest cities鈥� in Northeast Ohio.
His inspiration from local songwriters played a role in his shift to a solo artist, as well as his efforts to spotlight area talent through the Gage House Sessions.
鈥淲e just all seem to be doing it because we love it, and we all work so hard to improve and support each other. And it鈥檚 a really special and really incredible thing,鈥� Gage said.
Rethinking the live music experience
For Gage, music has always been an outlet for telling stories.
The Gage House Sessions series lets viewers inside an intimate space where Gage and a featured musician will engage in conversation and perform live music.
Because he is so well connected with the local music community, the videos capture the rapport he has with other artists.
鈥淚 just think of it as me hanging out with one of my respected friends,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 fortunately very organic. Because we have such a great group of musicians locally, I just love hanging out with them.鈥�
Gage said during the pandemic, a lot of artists were trying to figure out how to, but quality was often a concern.
鈥淭here鈥檚 just a lot that is lost from that live, in-person to the livestreaming, and I wanted to reduce that loss as much as possible,鈥� he said. 鈥淗igh-quality audio and video is not the same, but it gets us close.鈥�
He had some experience tech events for work and saw its potential for bringing live music to the masses.
He researched platforms and gear and made a streaming rig. He began watching YouTube tutorials and training videos. He said a lot of making high-quality livestreaming work was trial and error.
鈥淪till capture that high-quality content, because that was a big focus for me, to get away from just a cell phone recording. I wanted to keep that quality high,鈥� he said.
The Gage House Sessions platform has allowed Gage and other area artists to stay connected with their fans while in-person, live music events.
鈥淲e were able to keep our Gage House Sessions audience in the loop, and we were also able to keep a lot of musicians still connected with their remote audience,鈥� he said.
,,, and John Patrick Halling from are a handful of Northeast Ohio musicians who have performed a streaming concert through Gage鈥檚 online platform.
Gage has a long studio room where he and the performer will sit on opposite sides.
The artist just has to plug in their microphone, and everything else is set up for them to play and stream.
"There鈥檚 just a lot that is lost from that live, in-person to the livestreaming, and I wanted to reduce that loss as much as possible. High-quality audio and video is not the same, but it gets us close.鈥�Ben Gage
Finding silver linings during a dark time
Gage keeps a wall of set lists from each artist featured in his live streams.
He said music is a social endeavor, and operating the 鈥淟ive With鈥� streaming concerts has been a way to stay connected with his peers and local songwriters he admires.
鈥淣ot to sugar coat it, it was a really difficult year,鈥� Gage said. 鈥淎nd it continues to still be a difficult time. I think by default, musicians and creators are extremely social people, even if we have to go into our isolation to recharge, we still get a lot from being around people.鈥�
Gage said he has been writing a lot of new music, and last year he decided he wanted to get in the studio and start recording.
Those plans changed. His main focus in 2020 was on streaming and helping area artists have an outlet to perform.
Gage said the lack of socializing and performing as a musician has been difficult.
He said he struggled with bouts of depression and dealing with feelings he hasn鈥檛 felt of this magnitude before. The silver lining is that he鈥檚 gained a new perspective on what matters most.
鈥淚t also has maybe given us a little bit of a fire or a hunger to get back at the things that we do love that much with kind of a new focus,鈥� he said.
Gage said he wants to try to get back on 鈥渢he recording horse鈥� this year and get new, original music out there.
He thinks streaming will be here to stay.
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 another positive for the pandemic,鈥� Gage said. 鈥淚t did, sort of, it gave us more of an insight into the ways we can use streaming.鈥�
He said this won鈥檛 replace the experience of live music, but when everyone is able to experience concerts again, livestreaming will still be part of the norm.
鈥淪treaming can augment a live performance in a pretty incredible way,鈥� he said.
Streaming allows the public to enjoy the local music scene whenever, wherever鈥攏ot every local band has a high-quality music video.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a worthwhile investment that I can continue to use for my friends and new musicians,鈥� Gage said.
He wants traveling musicians to be able to use his platform going forward.
When they鈥檙e in the area on tour, they can pop in and do a streaming show and allow friends, family and fans back home to watch.
"Streaming can augment a live performance in a pretty incredible way."Ben Gage
In the future, when he is able to host in-person house shows again, he wants to livestream them instead of recording, editing and posting the videos after the fact.
鈥淚t鈥檒l be a special way to highlight those evenings,鈥� he said.
Gage said he has amassed a global following of his weekly livestreams.
鈥淎ustralia, England, the Netherlands 鈥� those are people that, as a local musician, we probably never would have been able to connect with before,鈥� he said.
Gage started a last year to support the work he puts into the streaming concert series.
Gage will perform a 鈥淟ive With鈥� streamed concert with the at 9 p.m. Feb. 4.
At 11 a.m. Feb. 14 and will present a, streamed live from the Bronson Church in Peninsula.
Visit for the full schedule of upcoming Gage House Sessions livestreaming concerts.
Northeast Ohio artists interested in streaming can fill out to get in touch with Gage.
