Scott Hammontree and Michelle Hanks:
March 2020: the hammer comes down. Suddenly it’s unsafe and insane to go about your life the way you have been, in the proximity of strangers, and no one is more affected than music venues, with the tightly packed camaraderie of a sold out crowd. Scott Hammontree, 20 year veteran operating partner at the Intersection, and Michelle Hanks, who, with her husband Gary, nine years ago converted a Masonic Temple into Seven Steps Up, a premier listening room experience, both knew they were in trouble unless they got creative and circled the wagons. Scott, who has since become president of the Michigan Independent Venue and Promoter Association, worked tirelessly to unite venues in the same predicament to present their woes with a united voice, and thus helped secure funding through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, and through a campaign called Save Michigan Stages. Michelle was an active partner in those efforts, and also successfully landed a grant from the Live Music Society to keep the doors open at Seven Steps Up, an intensely beloved Spring Lake institution. In 2022, both venues are once again thriving, if not quite back to business as before, and it is due in no small part to the tenacity and vision of Scott Hammontree and Michelle Hanks. When there is no voice to speak for you, you raise your own voice to the sky.
Yolonda Lavender:
When the global pandemic threatened to end music as we know it, Yolonda Lavender was already in a position to do something about it…several positions, in fact. She serves as the Stryker Johnston Foundation’s Grant Program & Partnerships Director, and as such can make a direct impact on applicant organizations, including musical ones. As the founder of Soul Artistry LLC, she specializes in experience curating, artistry development, nonprofit and self care consulting. Her areas of focus are the underserved Black, indigenous, and people of color serving nonprofits.For 7 years, her small business has created opportunities for artists to showcase their work and earn an income; these artists might not otherwise have a platform to exhibit their artistic abilities. Yolonda is out in the community of Kalamazoo, advocating artistic development and self care. She is also an accomplished artist in her own right, having released a Christmas album last year. Yolonda is an advocate and activist who takes pride in using her artistry to spread the messages of peace and love and to promote social justice all in an effort to evoke change.
Dogtown Studio:'
Dogtown Studio, the brainchild of Robby Fischer and Tito Mendoza, was off and running. In the first few months of 2020, these skilled videographers were everywhere, working with seemingly every local act to provide high quality calling card videos, for a fee of anywhere from free on up to what could be afforded. There was even a huge showcase with 14 bands at Third Coast Studios; things were looking as good as can be. But then, well, you know what happened. And Dogtown was already in place to keep the music coming. Artists were able to record videos, or stream live, from Dogtown’s unique and special space on the Grand Rapids riverfront, keeping their sound and image accessible to fans, even opening some new doors by working with the established and unique Dogtown brand and style. How many of those intimate sessions, strewn with white Christmas lights, did you watch at home on the couch, hoping for a time you could go out again? Dogtown kept the music coming, and kept the dream alive. We’re lucky these boys from Flushing came here to do their thing.
Stay In Your House Shows:
When the curtain fell hard on live music in March 2020, the need for performance to enrich our lives didn't go away. So people found creative ways to fill it, and among the first off the starting block was Emilee Petersmark, co-leader of the Crane Wives, and her partner, Korey Schnell. Most live shows went dark after March 12,2020; that was literally the date the Facebook page went up for this new venture, designed as a safe way to get your favorite west Michigan artists into your eyes and ears. The first show, with understandable glitches and learning curves, went live eight days later. And for the next 14 Fridays, $8,300 in tips was raised to help keep food on the table for vulnerable artists. Stay In Your House Shows was based on the notion that everyone had a right to safety, artists and audience alike. Said Emilee at the time: "I hope people take away that where there’s a will there’s a way. We are very much not throwing in the towel. We want to fight to survive, and to continue to bring music to the people. So I would hope that people feel inspired to find more workarounds in their own lives." Eventually venues figured out safety protocols, or moved music outdoors, so the labor intensive streaming shows stopped....but if ever sadly needed, they could easily come back. Thank you to Emilee and Korey for seeing a need, and filling a need.
Ralston Bowles:
Ralston Bowles has been a tireless supporter of other artists across his long career, often wandering the crowds during their shows selling their CDs from under his coat. He has a reputation for always putting up and coming young Michigan artists before himself. When tragedy struck his family, enough songs were secured for a fundraising double album within two days. And the support goes on, with Ralston curating and doggedly promoting the Tuesday Night Music series at Meijer Gardens, where the local acts dominate the big league stage. This award is to celebrate Ralston’s unstoppable passion for truth telling music, both his own and that of others, and of his efforts to make sure it gets heard far and wide.
Listening Room "Green Room Award":
Since its doors were opened in October 2019…and then closed in March 2020…and then opened again in August 2021, the Listening Room in Studio Park has developed a reputation as the finest place to play, and really be heard, in Grand Rapids. And that experience holds true for the artists as much as for the audiences. This Green Room Award is presented in recognition of the exemplary treatment all artists receive from the impassioned staff, whether local, national, or international. Led by Quinn Mathews and Cassie Betten, the crack team in the Listening Room makes sure all your needs are met (within reason, no one is sorting your M&Ms). From the ninja waiters to the skilled sound technicians to the friendly bartenders, everyone is committed to the smooth delivery of a good time. They will even lift the really heavy piano onto the stage for you. No one leaves the Listening Room without feeling what a remarkable place it is, and that goes for the artists who play there as well.
Labels: Bios
