Musicians big and small flock to Lawrence to be part of its rich, lively and diverse music scene.
| 2019 Q2 | story by Bob Luder | photos by Steven Hertzog
A paced audience fills up the Lied Center.
For two glorious summer evenings nearly seven years ago, Lawrence, Kansas, still a sleepy mid-America college town despite its growth, could have made a legitimate claim to being the psychedelic rock capital of the world.
Downtown cultural cornerstone Liberty Hall, which opened in 1912 as the Bowersock Opera House and had been the Lawrence Opera House, among other temporary iterations, was celebrating its centennial anniversary. And to commemorate the occasion, The Flaming Lips, an internationally famous psychedelic alternative rock band from Oklahoma City, was booked to play two nights. Not only did the venerable hall pack more than 2,000 music lovers through its doors for two sold-out shows, a couple thousand more not lucky enough to get tickets enjoyed a block party on Seventh Street, between Massachusetts and New Hampshire streets, listening to local bands, drinking local beer and eating food.
“I remember being there thinking what a big deal it was,” says Jacki Becker, a longtime Lawrence live music promoter who owns Eleven Productions and books bands with Mammoth Inc. “This was a band that was playing much larger venues, playing in front of tens of thousands at festivals; but here they were in this intimate space putting on two great shows. It was two great nights.”
Those two Flaming Lips shows represented a more recent acme in a Lawrence live music scene that is as rich, lively and entertaining as it is diverse.
Two larger-capacity venues on Mass Street—Liberty Hall and the Granada, built as a silent-movie theater in the 1930s—regularly host national and international touring acts in various musical genres. The Bottleneck, on New Hampshire, is smaller and splits stage time between touring bands and local performers.
Then there are the smaller venues that cater primarily to the dozens of local and regional bands trying to be heard, searching for that big break that will one day get them closer to emulating a band like The Flaming Lips. Operating at 10th and Mass since 1993, the Replay Lounge hosts the occasional national and international touring act, but primarily features local and regional talent both in its front room and outdoors on the more spacious back patio.
The Jazzhaus has booked famous jazz artists and performers from other genres on Mass Street since 1982. The Gaslight, located just north over the Kansas River bridge, has bands primarily on weekends—up to four nights a week during summer months—mostly on its outdoor patio. A couple of newer spots featuring live music include Lucia, next door to the Granada, and Shaun & Sons Artisan Pub and Coffeehouse, at 23rd and Iowa streets. Still others, like Brothers Bar & Grill and Eighth Street Tap Room, have local DJs at various times during the week.
And certainly, let’s not forget the outlier, both geographically and culturally, the Lied Center, on the West Campus at the University of Kansas (KU), which during the last 25 years has presented the most diverse plethora of musical talent to be found anywhere in town.
“It’s hard to find a community that has as much going on musically in such a dense space,” says Mike Logan, owner of the Granada and Lucia. “And I mean anywhere.”
“There’s no doubt Lawrence is a good music town,” says Dean Edington, general manager at Liberty Hall. “Like every place, it has its ups and downs. But the town does well when the artists in town are doing cool stuff. I’ve been through the crests and the waves. I think we’re coming out of a bit of a funk. But I’ll never not believe that Lawrence is a great music town.”
Multiple Musical Styles
Including student events, the Lied Center, a nonprofit organization that’s part of KU, hosts 75 to 100 events annually, explains Derek Kwan, the center’s executive director. Any outside events have to share dates with a vast number of performances put on by the KU School of Music. That includes ensemble performances by the KU Symphony Orchestra, KU Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, University Band, KU Jazz Ensembles 1, 2 and 3 and the KU Choir.
There also are a number of student recitals scheduled each year, and the center hosts about 10 Student Union Activities events where they book regional and local bands.
“We can never book against a set KU event like Rock Chalk Revue or a graduation ceremony or event,” Kwan says.
In addition, the Lawrence public school system books chorale events, as well as districtwide talent shows at the Lied Center.
“As part of our educational programming, we provide a free, age-specific performance for every student in the Lawrence public schools,” he says. “Booking is a challenge, but it’s one of the most entertaining parts of my job, because it’s a big puzzle.”
That leaves limited availability in the 1,979-seat-capacity center for dates for big-name professional artists, and yet the Lied Center manages to bring in great shows each and every year. Last year, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis performed two shows for public school students. The center kicked off this season with a performance from Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers. Martin Short and Steve Martin, classical violin player Joshua Bell, the Beach Boys and country stars Kenny Rogers and Clint Black all have performed there in recent years.
“We host a pretty wide breadth of musical styles,” Kwan says, “from chamber and orchestral to classic rock.”
Kwan says he’s had performances at the Lied that have drawn patrons from 15 states.
“What makes us unique is that we’re an all-seated venue,” he says. “And at 1,979 capacity, we’re the largest venue other than Allen Fieldhouse and Memorial Stadium.”
Kwan simply loves that the Lied Center plays a small role in the thriving live music scene in the city.
“We love all the other music venues in town,” he says. “I hang out myself a lot at the Replay.
“Our goal here at the Lied Center is to be able to present a world-class lineup every season that can not only entertain but educate the student body and local population. From an educational standpoint, the investment is what we’re supposed to do.”
Black Violin plus LHS and Free State students
The Downtown Scene
While Liberty Hall, with a capacity of 1,050, might not always pack the punch of a band as big as The Flaming Lips, it constantly serves up a smorgasbord of some of the biggest acts in music. This summer alone, the hall will host a diverse menu that includes art rock provocateur Todd Rundgren, classic rock troubadour Gordon Lightfoot, rock band Band of Horses and legendary rhythm and blues and gospel singer Mavis Staples.
Liberty Hall, The Granada, Bottleneck, LiedCenter, Replay
“The shows that come in here are tailored to the room for what the (renter wants),” says general manager Edington, who points out that Liberty Hall is strictly a rental facility and does not produce any of the concerts it hosts. “Everyone likes to play here. It’s the biggest stage in town, and we have the most intense sound system.
“I think the caliber of events is what sets us apart. It’s kind of a destination place.”
Just down the street a few blocks to the north, the Granada, which holds 900, also hosts big-name artists or those on the cusp of breaking out. The popular cult band Insane Clown Posse, New Found Glory and up-and-coming indie rock act Snail Mail are just a smattering of talent it’ll host this summer.
“The beauty of a venue like the Granada is that the style of music can vary depending on the night,” owner Logan says. “We’ve stayed relevant by booking a little of everything the last 16 years.”
The Granada also has forged a unique presence downtown by hosting music outside its walls, staging its annual “Live on Mass” concert series. This summer, the venue will host three concerts on an outdoor stage on Mass Street and have another outdoor show planned in August featuring the band The Urge.
“Touring acts love to come to Lawrence,” says music promoter Becker, who’s booked a lot of them during the years. “They can park the tour bus and walk anywhere, and get anything they want downtown. It provides a great stage for people to see and experience great live bands.”
It might be brand-name acts that draw more popular attention to venues downtown, but it’s the local shows and nurturing local talent that is the backbone of the Lawrence music scene. Liberty Hall and the Granada also host a lot of local shows and talent showcases.
The Bottleneck has been hosting open mic nights complete with a backing house band every Monday for years. Mike Dye, general manager and talent buyer, says it’s “probably 50-50 between local and national touring acts.” In March, the venue hosted a local music showcase as a fund-raiser for a local sexual trauma abuse center and raked in $1,300 for the cause.
“The music scene in Lawrence is a big, tight community,” Dye says. “We do pretty well here; it’s been pretty steady attendancewise. And when we do have a national touring act in here, we try to put on a local band for support any chance we get.
“For local bands, it’s hard to make money, but it really doesn’t matter because we all support each other,” he continues.
The Replay Lounge—simply “the Replay” to locals who know and love it—is one of the longest-running and most venerable local music venues in town, with live music running late into most nights of the week (along with more recently added matinees on Fridays and Sundays).
“The live music scene was one of the main reasons I moved here from Iola,” says Chris Maddox, who works at the Replay. To me, this is the best venue in town. You can come here most nights of the week and see three bands for three bucks.”
Maddox, who also plays in a local rock band called Bloom, says another great selling point of the Replay is the diversity. On any given night, a rock band can be playing the 149-capacity front room while a DJ plays on the patio, which can hold upwards of 280, out back.
Rick McNeely has made a living owning the Jazzhaus since 1982 despite jazz typically courting a more narrow fan base than other types of popular music. He’s had some of the all-time greats play his stage—Stan Getz, Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, Mose Allison, Eddie Harris and Phil Woods, among many others. But he freely admits he’s kept his venue operating by branching out musically and generating additional income by renting out the space for private parties. The Jazzhaus also has enjoyed great success with karaoke nights on Mondays and weekly Thursday night drag shows.
“I used to be open 12 hours a day, seven days a week,” McNeely says. “We’re dealing with a generation of young people who are used to getting their music for free. That makes it harder to get people to pay for music.”
He’s probably lost about $150,000 on jazz over the years, he continues.
“But I’ve had a great time,” McNeely says. “After so many years, the Jazzhaus has really become a mainstay on the local scene. As long as I can get up and down the stairs, we’ll keep going.”
Sean Hunt, hip hop artist mixing tracks in his studio
An Artist’s Perspective
Sean Hunt knows the Lawrence music scene from every perspective. He’s a well-known local hip hop artist, operating under the pseudonym “Approach” since 1999. Over time, he’s become involved in audio engineering and producing other acts, and currently owns and operates Datura Records, which licenses artists to release new material. He also works at the Replay.
Hunt has seen all sides of the music business and the local scene, with all its peaks and valleys, ebbs and flows. It’s an interesting time in the industry, he says. More recently, artists have been using machines to flesh out music by themselves, bringing about the term “bedroom project.” But he thinks that trend might be playing itself out, and a rebirth of organic band projects is on the horizon.
“Computers are so common in peoples’ homes, I think that’s just what people reach for first,” he says. “It’s practicality. But I believe the venues are everybody’s melting pot. The Replay, four nights a week, at least two bands are going to be playing. The Bottleneck open mics. On a bigger level, the Granada and Liberty Hall. Lucia, Brothers, Tap Room, you’re going to have DJs three to four nights a week.
“Peoples’ attention spans are more spread out today,” he continues. “Everything you need is at the touch of a button on a phone. Music might not play as much a role as it once did, but it’s still important. Artists are pushing themselves all the time to be better and better, and I think as they get better, more and more people are going to want to come out and see it and hear it.
“Like a cockroach, music will always find a way to regenerate and rise up,” he says.
Becker says the live music scene in Lawrence will always have the welcome mat out.
“Local people doing the best they can locally,” he says. “That’s the mantra we live by.”