Midwest mandolin tour trail

[Scott Tichenor]

I've been thinking about this for some time now and thought I'd throw it out here and let some ideas bounce around. I've discussed with Brian Hull who I have a lot of trust in and who runs Acoustic Art Productions (http://www.acousticartproductions.com/) in north Texas about a very small tight network of 5-6 venues interested in hosting occasional tours of mandolins artists, possibly workshops.

The idea is that it's unreasonable to get a mandolin act from the east or west coast to tour in this part of the country unless you have enormous sums of money. Most of us don't have the kind of event that will support this. But, if you could develop a network of promoters who could offer work for a week and collectively do the artists well then that's a win-win for everyone.

The recent Compton/Long tour was sort of a prototype that really got Brian and I thinking about this. Went exceptionally well in some places, not so well in others. It started too late to plan well and really get the word out but was still fairly successful. At least that's my take. Maybe David has another view. In Minneapolis the host for that event actually closed shop, put a note on the door and said it'd been cancelled without even informing them. Yikes. There's a perfect example of the kind of thing to avoid. In Lawrence I was in Nashville and couldn't assist. We didn't get the turnout we'd hoped for the workshop on a Thursday afternoon and maybe that's something we shouldn't have planned. The entire setting up of a tour is a heck of a lot of work as anyone that's done it will tell you. Having something pre-planned or even partially planned would be a real plus.

Anyway, in this supposed group the goal would be to be able to bring someone out this direction, possibly start them in Texas and work the way up through Oklahoma, Kansas City or Lawrence (where I am), possibly St. Louis, Minneapolis and maybe ending in Chicago. If this could be further organized so that contracts, tickets, communication, posters, known organizers with a trust relationship, etc. could pre-package some of this (really in la-la land now) that'd be a plus.

One thing, this stuff sounds good and fun but the truth is bringing performers in is a *lot* of work, risky financially, nerve-racking, etc. Having this network could possibly greatly reduce some of the down side. Great rewards in this but you need a strong stomach and willing to get back up if you get knocked down. I'm not looking for volunteers but wonder if people know of other areas where something like this has been organized. I'd guess the singer-songwriter circuit may have something but those are likely just known venues on the coasts where performers frequent and not an organized group of promoters.

[Ted Eschliman]

Scott is definitely right about the "work" part of this. Even when things go well, and the community is supportive, there's always that outside chance of conflict or last minute interruption.
Two suggestions for our neck of the woods, and this might generate some thinking for others of you in the region.
One, a major teacher personality/studio. We've always had best success when we can hook up with a local teacher--someone with a built-in network of communication, AND endorsement. (Even better if you have several).
The other is a local folk arts organization. We have one in Lincoln, LAFTA (http://lafta.nebraska.edu/) that coordinates a series of local concerts. There is also a fringe connection to the University of Nebraska (yes, we care about other stuff besides football...).
Again, these might be potential "pockets" in other midwestern communities.

[Scott Tichenor]

Addendum: people are reading this and I'm still editing the original so I'll just post again. Here's what I run up against being in the general area around Kansas City that's an example of how and why I'd benefit from this kind of network. I'm looking at bringing in a major artist from the south to Mandofest next year. This individual and partner only drive--they do not fly. Of course they want a healthy fee for just this event--I would too if it were me--but if even a part of this network existed and they could work for a week then that makes them able to work for a fee I can afford and that they'd be happy with. Simple economics. They need to work, I need an artist. Most are willing to work and it's only reasonable that if they can pick up more along the way then that's what they're in the business to do. In my case we're not a for-profit event so our goal is to break even. So lets say Simon and Hillary Mayor are coming to the U.S. for a tour. Unreasonable to fly them all over the midwest but something like this would allow them to tour here without the hassle of picking up the phone and making 75 phone calls, emails, etc.

[grandmainger]

Scott,

This sounds like a great plan. Since the only way I can contribute from the UK is in cyberspace, I can 'donate' the following:
-Webspace, either on my personal site, or on my university's site.
-Domain name
-Website design, if needed. I'm quite OK at this.

Good luck with the rest.

Germain

[Scott Tichenor]

One more thing while I'm thinking out loud. I don't see this as a free-for-all bring everyone all-the-time. I'd think instead of artists approaching us, which is always possible, what I'd like is to allow the promoters to choose times they would want to run the tours and then select who to bring in with some flexibility. No burn out, have some pre-organization, one-poster-for-all, agreed prices, etc. Make it easier on everyon with some pre-planning. I'm really thinking about maybe this happening four times a year max. Doesn't sound like much? Then you haven't done some of this work!

[mando andy]

Great idea Scott,
David and Mike came through Madison, WI and although we had about two weeks to put something together, we were able to schedule a well attended house concert--40-50 people that was one of the best musical events that I have ever attended. The workshop was fantastic!!!!!---but unfortunately only had 5 in attendance.

The workshop suffered I think because of the short lead time and the fact that so many people told me that they were on vacation. #I had hoped to get about 10-15 for the workshop.

We had our first annual traditional annual music festival here this past month and it exceeded expectations in terms of attendance and being financially successful. That might be a possible future venue for future performers. Check out the link at:

http://www.sugarmaplefest.org/

The David/Long tour would have benefited by more planning and lead time. #I hope that they (and others) will keep Madison on the map when plans for mando tours in the midwest are being hatched.

Andy Morton
Madison, WI

[steve V. johnson]

I think there would be quite a bit of interest in Indiana, where there is an enormous bluegrass & oldtime network.

But the main 'model' for this sort of thing would probably be a long weekend, say with workshops on a couple days and one or two shows. Only Louisville and Indianapolis could support whole weeks and fill big halls, but using smaller venues and three-or four-day stays, several performances could happen within short drives. Folks really like having the 'workshop' type of contact and not just going to a concert. And it seems to deepen folks identification with and (buying) loyalty to artists who do that. Which suggests that it's particularly successful when artists have products to sell other than the workshops and performances, CDs and other merchandise.

We've done things sort of like this with touring Irish trad artists, and we have a very effective Irish trad email network. We are miniscule compared to the bluegrass & oldtime players' numbers.

It sounds like a great idea, worthy of more consideration.

Thanks,

steveV