Glaring Void Of Bluegrass Music In Branson...

[Mike Bunting]

A friend of mine books a big country festival in Canada and gave me this info. Taylor Swift goes for $1,500,000.00 these days, think she'll be in Branson soon?

[Mike Bunting]

Well when you shell out your $2500 - 3200 for a 7-day Royal Caribbean cruise with Rhonda Vincent and the Rage -- you will get beer served in champagne glasses!
Say what you wish these cruises fill up fast.

I don't believe that Monroe's "folks" go on these cruises.

[Mike Snyder]

Last time I was in Branson Rhonda was headlining at the Grand Palace.

[Bernie Daniel]

Mass appeal is not the "folks".

Well the folks are part of the masses -- but whatever, maybe I just have more faith in my fellow human's ability to appreciate...

[Mike Bunting]

Maybe.

[Bernie Daniel]

I don't believe that Monroe's "folks" go on these cruises.

Really, how many of them have you been on? The video of her last one (shown on RFD-TV) taken from on the ship looked pretty much like a bluegrass crowd back home to me -- dressed up a bit because of the ship rules...

My only point was people will spend decent money to be entertained by a bluegrass band....

[Bernie Daniel]

Last time I was in Branson Rhonda was headlining at the Grand Palace.

Did she draw a good crowd?

[Rex Hart]

Our band is scheduled to play the BG and BBQ festival at Silver Dollar City in May and I can tell you that it is the most attended festival that SDC has. I think a mid size venue would go over like gangbusters in Branson even though some may think only toothless hillbillies would attend. As a matter of fact, I think IBMA would do themselves a favor by moving from Nashville to Branson, but I digress....

[Charlieshafer]

I think the cruises are a different beast altogether. There are blues cruises, jazz cruises, and they all fill up in large part because the cruisers not only get to hear a bunch of great artists, but because they also get to mingle with them for an extended period of time. Plus, it's a cruise, whether the ship sinks or not. Branson musically represents comfort food for a lot of the busloads of tourists who go there, and bluegrass can be a little more challenging to listen to, sort of like Louis Armstrong vs. modern jazz. You simply need too many people to make a profit to be there. If the buses aren't lined up outside the front door, those venues can't survive. I still don't think you'd have enough top-flight artists who would want to play there for extended periods to attract crowds every day of the year. It's a high-volume business there, much like a Wall-mart.

[JeffD]

A friend of mine hosts a quilting and sewing cruise. Cruises are a different animal.

[JeffD]

Bluegrass is not the same kind of entertainment, .

There is something to that. I recently went to a country music show, Blake Shelton, Justin Moore. The venue was filled. Every one of those 16,641 seats had a person in it.

And even though I like a some of country music, and like of what these particular entertainers do, there was much more "entertainment" than there was music.


And I recently went to a bluegrass show. Sierra Hull, Tony Trishka, Gibson Brothers. A show that was much more musical, (and not nearly so LOUD), and yea the venue was packed. All 350 seats.


The second show left me inspired and excited and in love again with the music. The first show left me exhausted and almost deaf for half of the next day.

[drbluegrass]

People turn out for BG fests in droves. And they sit in the hot sun with the humidity and bugs and listen intently to the music. I really wonder if some of the posters here are aware of what is currently going on in BG music. It is really undergoing a bit of a renaissance/resurgence. And the fests I've been to, save for maybe one, have been packed. And even that one had a respectable turnout. The fans are there. If the fests are any indication that's a given. You just need to get them to the venue. I really think if someone would provide a decent venue in Branson you'd have more fans that you could accommodate. Especially if it was the only one in there. I'd even bet they would support local/"non-name" acts. They do at fests. As someone mentioned above, in between local acts you could catch some "name" acts coming through on tour just like the fests do, maybe once a month. And you wouldn't need a large theater, at least to start with...maybe 300-350 seats. Anyway, total speculation on my part. But it sure seems doable to me. Especially given the potential fan base. OK, I'll shut up.


Tom

[Mike Snyder]

Did she draw a good crowd?

Sold out the Palace, which was the biggest venue on the strip back then. This was 7-8 years ago when she was really new and hot. Not that she's not hot now............................................... .......

[BradKlein]

I don't see anything wrong with the original question, although I've never been to Branson and don't know much about it. Unlikelier things have succeeded.

Why IS there a Madame Tussauds wax museum in Time Square? (I live in NYC) And why ISN'T there a "branch" of the Grand Ole Opry in Time Square? BB Kings blues club seems to do well there. Planet Hollywood? I can't explain it.

Bluegrass means a lot of different things to different people (as has often been discussed here on the Cafe). Maybe someone will find a formula that works in Branson, creates a whole new set of fans and economic opportunities for musicians. It probably won't resemble the bluegrass that long time festival goers or Station Inn regulars expect. It'll be something made to order for that place and opinions will differ over its value, I suppose.

[JeffD]

People turn out for BG fests in droves.

I have been to a few festivals, but notably not some of the big ones. So I don't know. But I am guessing that at any one main stage concert you never get anything close to an audience of 16,000? I am pretty sure Blake Shelton gets that or more routinely.

[JeffD]

Why IS there a Madame Tussauds wax museum in Time Square? .

Madame Tussauds in London attracts about 2.5 million visitors a year. I would think they see similar numbers at most of their museums.

I would guess that the new Justin Bieber wax figure in Tussauds in Hollywood, by itself, will attract more people in a year than the number who attend live bluegrass performances in the same year.

[MikeEdgerton]

...And the fests I've been to, save for maybe one, have been packed. And even that one had a respectable turnout...

I basically go to two fairly decent sized BG festivals a year (OK, to be honest I missed last year). If you take the entire seating area of both of them and combine them together in one place and count the seats, then double that you won't be close to filling a section in most of the venues the big country stars play. Every thing is relative.

If it was me and I was a betting man I'd bet a "small" venue might make it in Branson playing nothing but bluegrass but you'd have to have a heck of a house band to fill in when there wasn't a decent act passing through and you might want to have a restaurant attached with the cheapest food in town available to draw in the busses.

[Rex Hart]

[QUOTE)
If it was me and I was a betting man I'd bet a "small" venue might make it in Branson playing nothing but bluegrass but you'd have to have a heck of a house band to fill in when there wasn't a decent act passing through and you might want to have a restaurant attached with the cheapest food in town available to draw in the busses.[/QUOTE]

I agree with the above statement.I will say that almost every bluegrass event that is held (and promoted) here in Missouri is usually very well attended, whether it is a festival (Starvy Creek), or just a one off show that someone has booked a passing thru national act during a week day. Even the local and regional acts seem to be able to draw decent crowds.

[mandolino maximus]

The niche part and the most people don't like it part are true. But

There are a whole lot of people who can like it and many do unless or until they are told what it is. Most folks who saw Steve Martin in downtown Chicago were not bluegrassers, but got most excited when the band (SCR) let loose on their own with "full bluegrass" abandon. Then there was the noticeable crowd (largely non-bluegrass) reaction to the fiddle tune played during the Goat Rodeo Sessions live simulcast.

OTOH, there's a lot of fans of persnicketygrass who wouldn't cross the street to see a band that played it differently and wouldn't cross if they played it the same as they'd already heard. Not only are we often cheap, half of the guys I know rarely pay to see any band and only pick at festivals any way.

If I were dedicating a venue, I'd concentrate on great musicians and target a general audience. (Like Bill did. Sorry, couldn't help myself.) Especially in Branson where folks come to see Andy Williams and non-country stuff as much as country. Buddy, can you loan me $5 million til Thursday 2020?

[journeybear]

... you might want to have a restaurant attached with the cheapest food in town available to draw in the busses.

As long as it has possum on the menu, mebbe roadkill stew. Gotta maintain yer demographic.

By the way, a big draw for festivals is the participation - parking lot and campfire pickin'. There is no room for that in a Branson venue. Unless you can figure out a way to do it, which might indeed increase your business.

I would like to see a bluegrass venue there - not that I'd ever go, but just knowing it was there would make me smile. And just 'cause it ain't been done don't mean it can't be done. Just gotta figure out how.

[drbluegrass]

"[...You simply need too many people to make a profit to be there. If the buses aren't lined up outside the front door, those venues can't survive. I still don't think you'd have enough top-flight artists who would want to play there for extended periods to attract crowds every day of the year. It's a high-volume business there, much like a Wall-mart....]"


Once again, we're not talking a large theater. You wouldn't need "busloads of people" to make a BG venue work. Don't forget a major contingent of people come to Branson in their personal vehicles and not buses. And you certainly wouldn't need the expensive "theatrics" that the major theaters have either. We're talking a completely different venue vs a "Pressleys type" of theater. Maybe half that size. IMHO, it's erroneous thinking to equate a BG venue with a typical large Branson theater. You simply wouldn't need it. You could perhaps hire or "borrow" a comedian to MC the shows, perhaps provide some type of food...but not necessarily.
If you couldn't succeed with this in Branson I'm not sure you could succeed with it anywhere else. They seem to have everything necessary for success in place...except, the venue.


Tom

[JeffD]

The niche part and the most people don't like it part are true. But

There are a whole lot of people who can like it and many do unless or until they are told what it is. Most folks who saw Steve Martin in downtown Chicago were not bluegrassers, but got most excited when the band (SCR) let loose on their own with "full bluegrass" abandon. ?

That is a good point. There are lots of folks who would like bluegrass if it were more "allright" to be seen liking it. You can tell your friends you are going to see Steve Martin and that banjo thing show whatever. And once exposed a lot more folks are attracted to bluegrass than will admit it. The music itself has its own justification and integrity that is easy to embrace. But for many the hurdle is high.

[JeffD]

Once again, we're not talking a large theater. You wouldn't need "busloads of people" to make a BG venue work. And you certainly wouldn't need the expensive "theatrics" that the major theaters have either. We're talking a completely different venue vs a "Pressleys type" of theater.

Correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that tickets for shows in Branson are sold outside of Branson. Few people go to Branson without their entire weekend's entertainment all layed out, tickets purchased, perhaps even a printed itinirary. Not much room for a spontaneous decision to check out this or that small of the beaten track venue, except maybe a restaurant or a cuppa coffee. Nobody shows up and then looks around for stuff to do.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see it. I would love to see more people appreciate bluegrass and all its variants. But its an uphill battle just to explain what bluegrass is to folks who can identify the banjo correctly given a couple of hints.

[drbluegrass]

That is a good point. There are lots of folks who would like bluegrass if it were more "allright" to be seen liking it. You can tell your friends you are going to see Steve Martin and that banjo thing show whatever. And once exposed a lot more folks are attracted to bluegrass than will admit it. The music itself has its own justification and integrity that is easy to embrace. But for many the hurdle is high.

I think that there are enough BG fans that the "I don't want to be seen liking it" contingent aren't even a factor. Especially as it pertains to Branson. Like I stated above, the fans/numbers are there. Just provide the venue...and they will come. Especially if it's not my money, LOL!


Tom

[JeffD]

I don't know about Branson, but I do know that many places you don't have to have the cheapest dinner venue, you just have to buy dinner for the bus driver.