KCRag Forum

grovester wrote:Brooklyn is far away, whoever gets famous first.

JBmidtown wrote:Not that I've ever been a big part of that scene myself. Hell half of Salty (the drummer and bassist) are a bunch of prog loving nerds. We're a confused band.

kucer wrote:

JBmidtown wrote:Not that I've ever been a big part of that scene myself. Hell half of Salty (the drummer and bassist) are a bunch of prog loving nerds. We're a confused band.

Ha..you guys are a lot of fun live, JB. The bassist did strike me as an interesting fit for your band..makes more sense now.

Didn't see you at the D&A, Whiffs, Sweet Spirit show!

“The customers and fans will let us know,” he said. “It’s a lot for a market this size. We already have more venues than Minneapolis and St. Louis. I think if anything, it proves Kansas City is a great music town.”

In addition to the Uptown, the Midland and the Truman, that roster of venues includes Knuckleheads, 2715 Rochester Ave., which offers five venues that range in capacity from 60 to 1,300; the Madrid, an 800-capacity theater at 3810 Main St.; Crossroads KC, an outdoor venue (2,850) at 18th and Locust streets; the VooDoo at Harrah’s North Kansas City casino (almost 1,200); Starlight Theatre (nearly 8,000) in Swope Park; Providence Medical Center Amphitheater (21,000) in Bonner Springs; and Silverstein Eye Centers Arena (about 5,000) in Independence.

“(This year) looks to be Sprint Center’s most successful year since opening 10 years ago,” said Shani Tate, the arena’s vice president of marketing, communications and ticket sales. “In 2017, three world tours started in Kansas City: Roger Waters, Ed Sheeran and One Republic. And Sprint Center was one of five arenas selected by Radiohead for their 2017 North American tour.”

The RecordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd., is one of the smaller venues that have been a vital part of the city’s music pipeline. At its former location, which held 300-plus, it hosted bands like Mumford and Sons and Phoenix, which have since graduated to large theaters and arenas.

Its new location holds 400-plus fans, and co-owner Steve Tulipana said 2017 has been a good year, though he has been heavily focused on getting the restaurant side of the business back up and running after the move downtown in May 2016. It recently started opening at 11 a.m. and offering lunch daily.

“Overall, attendance is up, despite some of the setbacks with parking compared to the old location,” he said. “We are almost back up to the number of shows we did at the old location — close to 300 shows a year.”

So most venues and promoters are having a year as good or better than 2016 but will a new mid-size venue planning to do 80 shows or more in 2018 pop the music bubble in Kansas City? Or are there enough fans and dollars to go around?

“If you look at the volume that’s coming through the market, we’re definitely hopeful that the demand and support of music in Kansas City is growing,” DuCharme said. “Hopefully the market keeps up and sustains it. It’s about being smart and putting bands in the right situations and in the right rooms.”

Becker was more direct: “All the shows are coming to the market. If there’s enough money in the market, we can all make it work.”

earthling wrote:In terms of tours booked in KC/Lawrence market, according to Pollstar it's pretty much on par for market size, maybe a bit more than some markets per capita.