If you build it, they will come. But if not, they can always head to a coffeehouse.
Talks of building a performance venue in Kalispell or expanding venue options throughout the Flathead have stalled or hiccupped at various stages over the years, some dying altogether and others clinging to hope as the economy recovers. Yet through it all, opportunities for local musicians to showcase their talent seem to be constantly expanding.
An aspiring songwriter in the Flathead can find an open mic or singer-songwriter showcase to perform at on almost any given night. Some are in coffeehouses, but most are in bars, which Christian Johnson – a well-known local musician – says is the only damper on an otherwise very welcomed resurgence of live music in the Flathead Valley. Musicians too young for the bars need more venues, Johnson said.
Johnson, who has traveled the nation playing with bands, from sold-out arenas to quaint bars, said Northwest Montana is chockfull of talented musicians, a number seemingly growing by the month. And now, increasingly, they have places to play.
“There’s a tremendous amount of talent in the valley,” Johnson said.
Among the venues offering open mics are the Boiler Room coffeehouse and Hilton Garden Inn in Kalispell, Ricciardi’s in Polson, the Tamarack in Lakeside, and the Craggy Range and Great Northern in Whitefish. Johnson runs the Hilton Garden acoustic showcase on Thursday nights. He used to run open mic night on Tuesdays at Red’s Wines and Blues.
But while open mics help startup musicians gain exposure, they don’t pay the bills. With the economy picking up again, however, the market for paid musicians has been reinvigorated as well.
Johnson said there were “a couple of slow winters there,” but bars and other venues are beginning to book more shows, a trend that could usher in a productive summer for valley musicians. In the summer, from Polson to Woods Bay to Whitefish, it’s never hard to find a concert in the Flathead, including events such as Thursday!Fest and the Depot Park Summer Concert Series.
And while live music is nothing new for a Flathead weekend night, the widespread prevalence of open mic and showcase opportunities is, to an extent, musicians say. It appears venues are responding to an overall uptick in the number of people playing music, which Johnson attributes partly to technology – there are a lot more resources for anybody to pick up an instrument and learn.
In addition, Andre Floyd said in times of recession people turn to music. Floyd, a local recording artist who has played with the likes of Taj Mahal, said talent has been emerging from all corners of the valley, offering a range of music types. Jam sessions that he sees now remind him of the sessions held at the Finish Line in the late 1990s.
“This is like the Renaissance for this place,” Floyd said. “They’re coming out from all over the place.”
Nurturing homegrown talent is one thing. Offering an environment where they can make a living is another. Established musicians like Johnson, Floyd, John Dunnigan and the Smart Alex, among others, generally don’t have too hard of a time booking shows. But it can be a bit more of a struggle for a new band to find its place.
A number of young bands have carved out their own niche in the valley over the years, but these bands are affected by the dilemma facing both bar owners and visionaries contemplating the possibility of opening a large performance center in Kalispell: Will enough people pay to watch concerts here?
In some instances, the answer has been “yes.” When Whitefish Mountain Resort hosted the Marshall Tucker Band in 2007, more than 2,000 people purchased tickets. But that number equaled the attendance of the three other concerts in the series combined. The series ended after one summer.
When good bands from both out of town and from the valley hold concerts, people often seem willing to fork over a couple bucks at the bar door. Where it gets tricky, Floyd said, is getting people to pay $20 or $30 for a show.
Flanagan’s Central Station in Whitefish used to host nationally known bands before it closed down in 2007. Today, Raceway Park, the O’Shaughnessy Center, the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, the KM Theatre on a smaller scale, and other venues bring bigger acts from out of the valley. Yet they still face the challenges associated with being more than 100 miles off a major interstate.
Floyd said when he ran the Blue Heron in Missoula from 2001-2004, he could get big-name acts on their way to shows in Seattle or other large destinations. They would even play for a discount because they were already on the road, with that concert-less day budgeted for a financial loss.
“Would you rather spend money that day or make a little money?” Floyd said the negotiating boiled down to.
But the Flathead doesn’t have that interstate luxury; musicians must make a special trip up here. As for the local musicians trying to move past the open mic stage and into professional – or at least paid – musician’s lifestyle, it is incumbent upon venue owners to pay them, which means it’s necessary for spectators to show up and either fork out a door fee or buy enough drinks.
“I worry about audiences not showing up,” Floyd said. “That’s part of the club’s fault too. If you’re paying $8.50 for a glass of wine, you watch the show and have a couple of glasses of wine and you’ve spent more than $25.”
For Johnson, keeping connected to the wave of new musicians, particularly songwriters, is vital. It’s a major reason he cares so deeply about his acoustic showcase series.
“That’s kind of why I do it – I don’t want to lose touch,” Johnson said. “I’m a dinosaur and I don’t want to be more of a dinosaur. I don’t want to disappear.”