Some months back, local music impresario Jon Pataky (Wonder Caverns, The Mighty Narwhale) had a Facebook status stating, "Call me crazy, but I'm starting to see something that resembles a Grand Rapids music scene."
While it is hard to ignore the fact that there has always been a local music "scene" in Grand Rapids, it is easy to see that better, and maybe even amazing, times are on the horizon. New bands are forming on what seems like almost a daily basis. Venues that will cater to a wider variety of music tastes are in the process of opening. It already seems as though there are multiple shows to attend every night of the week all over the city, and local music fans are flocking to them. Top all of this off with a large three-day music festival that at least has the potential to turn Grand Rapids into a music and cultural mecca of the Midwest, and people have good reason to be excited.
The Prospecto Music Showcase and Sonic Experience is scheduled to occur September 23, 24, and 25. This also happens to be the first weekend of the much-anticipated second annual
ArtPrize event. Creative Director Benjamin Hunter assures that Prospecto is intended to compliment ArtPrize, not compete.
"[Prospecto] will add value and provide something to do in the evening; they have been supportive of what we're doing," Hunter says.
Scott Sanford, director of operations for Prospecto, adds, "people want entertainment after ArtPrize."
Prospecto takes place at eight different venues throughout the city, from Eastown to Downtown to the northwest side. Approximately 90 bands are confirmed to play over the three days. Hip-hop legend GZA (Wu-Tang Clan) and 90s alternative favorite Presidents of the United States of America are the official "headliners," however, Hunter says there are at least fifteen bands slated to perform that have played Lollapalooza or Coachella. Among these are bands like Smoking Popes, Indian Jewelry and Depressed Buttons. The rest of the line-up is primarily local bands, including Chance Jones, Lazy Genius, Wonder Caverns, SuperDre and many others. Some lineup surprises are still to come.
For Hunter, Sanford, and Marketing Director Rich Haralson, Prospecto grew not so much out of just wanting to do a music festival, but more out of the desire to engage and challenge the community.
"I really like our music community, and I want to shine a light on this brilliant scene," Hunter says.
Hunter owes his connection to the music scene to a number of ventures: he's the frontman for local acts Head and Love Fossil, a GVSU professor, the culture editor for local music-heavy magazine
Recoil, and formerly the editor in chief of Los Angeles'
Wide-Eyed Magazine. Sanford, who came from a long career in Data Engineering, is the self-professed "technical" person of the bunch, while Hunter and fellow organizer Rich Haralson are the big-thinking creatives. Much of Sanford's job, as he describes it, was to take his partner's ideas and "quantify and define them in terms of size and scope." While Sanford may not be as connected to the burgeoning local music scene as Hunter, he is equally committed to making a significant impact in the Grand Rapids music and arts community, with an eye on Prospecto's economic impact as well.
"We want small businesses, without a lot of cash flow, to be involved," he says.
Hunter adds, "We have these large venues that touring bands are accustomed to coming to, but with this being a showcase, we're encouraging people to go to the dark and stormy watering holes too, because they're kitschy, cool places. They might not have the budget to do this on their own, but the bands [performing in these venues] have the draw for those places."
Sanford also explained that there is some talk of partnering with other local annual events such as the Eastown Street Fair to further community involvement.
"We want to work with other community events, not compete with them," he says.
One of the most amazing parts of how Prospecto came to be is the fact that Sanford, Hunter and Haralson did not even have a business model until March, nor had they even begun to discuss putting on a large-scale music showcase before February. Putting together that business model came first, and then came the work of locking down bands and venues. Hunter's history with publishing and journalism has allowed him to foster numerous relationships with a variety of agencies. Hunter explained that he simply started by "making a list of national acts I thought we could afford."
This is not to say that everything has run completely smoothly. Hunter expressed that certain agencies representing some of the bigger artists performing were not returning calls or emails, due primarily to a perceived stigma of Grand Rapids as a lesser city for national acts to play. This is a stigma that could be altered to a positive view if Prospecto proves a success.
"Some of these boutique agencies booking indie rock or alternative music will see us as a viable market, for venues like The Intersection and the upcoming Pyramid Scheme, and all venues that book touring bands," Hunter says. "The aggregate of all of this is that we have such a strong music community that these (touring) bands can know that if they do play these markets, they're going to have viable shows where ticket sales are good because there are so many good anchor bands to work with."
Hunter also adds the opportunity for local bands to make allies with touring bands and find new opportunities.
Some have expressed disappointment with the group's efforts to get the word of Prospecto out to the city, a sentiment that might be better tempered by patience. Haralson is no stranger to promoting large events, including the
Grand Rapids Bar Crawl and his annual summer parties. Haralson assures that there is going to be a large marketing push in the final month, although he is tight-lipped about specifics. "[My] skills are more around guerilla marketing," he hints.
Prospecto is big, and it is different, and it is being done for motivations that are not purely monetary. Prospecto could bring a national spotlight to West Michigan as a destination where national and regional acts to find good crowds, as well as a place where stellar original music is being made. Its success depends on a number of things: will people be willing to pay $60 for three nights of quality music? Will people be willing to travel to eight different venues to hear the bands they choose? Taking these considerations into account, Prospecto has released single-day passes for $26 a piece for attendees who can only make one night. Prospecto has also enlisted
G.R. Hopper's help. For $5 a night, concert goers can pick up a shuttle outside of any venue within 30 minutes and be transported to another venue. Hunter also points out the existing transit infrastructure, including the Rapid's later running lines making stops near Eastown, West Leonard and Creston area venues further from city center.
Is Grand Rapids still a sleepy, Midwestern town, or an upcoming cultural metropolis? No one has a definitive answer. Luckily Sanford, Hunter, and Haralson are all confident that Prospecto is something hip Grand Rapidians will be flocking to in droves. Sanford also made it clear that the group has agreed to organize Prospecto for at least the next three years.
"Three years is the minimum to see how the community is involved," he says.
On the community note, Hunter adds, "I'd like to reach out to all the bands in town, this is your baby. We got the car started, but you're driving it."
Tickets are available at
www.prospectogr.com. Three-day passes run $60, single-day for $26, and VIP passes (limited quantity) for $200.
Photos:Rich Haralson
Benjamin Hunter
Scott Sanford
Rich Haralson, Benjamin Hunter, and Scott Sanford
Photographs by
Brian Kelly -All Rights Reserved