The roster of festivals and music venues disappearing over the past several months continues to grow with the announcements by a Christian music fest and downtown GR restaurant.
The End of Two Eras: Big Ticket Festival and Grand Rapids’ Rockwell Republic. (Video Screenshots)
There’s one more Michigan festival that’s unplugging the music this year.
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Christian music’s Big Ticket Festival in Gaylord — originally scheduled for June 26-28 — has called things off.
“We felt something needed to change – there had to be a shift before we could continue,” said Becky Mason, festival director and member of the non-profit board which administers the event.
Organizers had paused the festival last year, hoping to gear up for a run in 2025.
But Mason said the festival had always carried debt through its 19-year history. And to demonstrate integrity with finances, that model had to change.
“We had to let go of the past before stepping into something new,” she added.
Several state music festivals had their swan song in 2024, including Hoxeyville in Wellston and Earthwork Harvest Gathering in Lake City, with the high-profile Faster Horses country music experience in Brooklyn announcing just last month that it was going on hiatus in 2025.
At Big Ticket, post-COVID attendance had waned to less than 10,000 over its multi-day schedule.
In its heydey, the 19-year-old festival held at the Otsego County Fairgrounds soared well above 20 thousand. But expenses continued to mount.
“The reasons were cumulative,” Mason said of the cancellation. “But the biggest thing is we’re moving in a new direction.”
Organizers are processing refunds for ticket and camping pass holders, though the timing is unclear based on this official statement: “We have been praying and working to be able to refund every ticket holder. … We appreciate your grace and patience as we navigate all of this. We plan to start refunding ticket holders and camping reservations sometime in March, starting with those who requested refunds when we postponed 2024.”
Organizers also are holding out the possibility of some event to succeed the festival.
“There will be elements people recognize,” hinted Mason. “But we’re not exactly sure what it’s gonna look like.”
The email address for more information is bigticketfestival@gmail.com.
A ‘Super Magical’ Place: The John Shea Trio performing at Rockwell Republic. (Courtesy Photo)
ROCKWELL REPUBLIC SHUTS DOORS, ENDING MONDAY JAZZ
Expressing “deep sorrow” for the move, Rockwell Republic in downtown Grand Rapids has announced that it will close after 17 years as a restaurant, bar and music venue in the Heartside District.
Owners with the 4GR8Food Group cited “the current fiscally challenging environment for restaurants and bars,” but added that the the decision “was incredibly difficult, especially when it involves a dedicated team of hardworking individuals who have supported one another like family.”
The 4GR8Food Group noted that team members would be “offered at a position at one of our affiliated restaurants.” The company operates more than a dozen restaurants in West Michigan and the Traverse City area.
Monday night jazz performances have been a regular feature at Rockwell Republic, 45 S. Division Ave., with the John Shea Trio setting up shop and entertaining patrons from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. every week for more than a decade.
“It was great. I played there 15 years. It was everybody’s favorite venue,” Shea told Local Spins. “There’s something super magical about it. A whole community of people grew up around it.”
Shea said the closing “is very sad indeed” because he first met a lot of his friends there. “The many, many stellar nights there are the stuff of dreams.”
The news came the same week that another jazz hot spot on S. Division Avenue — GR Noir — was wrapping up its final run of shows after opening four years ago. The Danny Richardson Trio performed the final show at GR Noir on Friday, after owners cited “post-pandemic struggles, inflation and shifting consumer behaviors” for the closure.
The closures mark two of several announced by Grand Rapids restaurants the past two months.
Read more about GR Noir and Faster Horses at Local Spins here.
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