For this January episode, Ralston and Sink’s Virtual Podcast sat down with Intersection general manager Scott Hammontree to talk about booking, landing tours and just how local bands get on concert bills.
Building an Audience: Wayland has become a crowd-attracting regular at The Intersection. (Photo/Eric Stoike)
On any given week in West Michigan, dozens of national acts light up stages at venues from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo to the lakeshore, often with local bands opening the shows in a bid for some broader exposure.
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But just how do these well-known and not-so-well-known performers end up playing these concert halls and nightclubs?
Scott Hammontree, general manager of The Intersection
When Local Spins reader and RSVP Music Chat listener Paul Lind asked podcast hosts John Sinkevics and Ralston Bowles to tackle the topic – and why certain acts play a place like Grand Rapids and others bypass the city – they sought guidance from someone who’s long been an integral part of West Michigan’s music scene: Scott Hammontree, general manager of The Intersection, one of the region’s iconic nightclubs (and one that will open two new lower-level venues in the same building this spring).
The in-depth conversation turned out to be a wide-ranging one, from the way opening acts get lined up for national tours to the restrictions some touring acts put on local artists added to a bill to the role of radio airplay to Grand Rapids’ rising stature on the national touring scene to anecdotes about Bassnectar, Greta Van Fleet and Wayland.
It’s a podcast full of practical advice, too, from the way West Michigan bands can put their best foot forward to how local acts can set up CD-release shows at The Stache (Intersection’s front lounge).
The guys even added a postscript to the last RSVP Music Chat on tributes and tribute acts, extending that discussion thanks to a voice message from Grand Rapids singer-songwriter Nicholas James Thomasma.
Listen to the full podcast here, then leave a comment or suggestion via Speakpipe below and you could be part of the next RSVP Music Chat.
PODCAST: RSVP Music Chat No. 10
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