Music and Door County

Well its been an interesting year for music around the DC Peninsula. For certain there's a good deal of activity, new venues for live music springing up around us, many of them being existing taverns, restaurants etc, adding a music program to help entice people through the doors.
But where is it all leading?
I think there will be some pretty big changes in the coming season or two, particularly when more and more of the music venues have to adjust their sights and basically be able to compete with 'free' music offered around the Peninsula by organizations such as the Peg Egan center. Free music doesn't sound so bad in principle (excuse the pun), but in reality I personally feel it will have a longer term damaging effect on live music in the area. If places like the Peg Egan can pull 1000+ people to see a quality performance from the likes of Ritchie Havens and Tab Benoit, what does that leave behind for the rest of the music venue owners and program operators? Well, it isn't too clear at the moment but it doesn't feel good. To say that other places don't have music programs on a Sunday night, so how can the Peg Egan's Sunday night program impact them, is quite frankly, missing the point.
People coming to the area typically stay 4 or 5 nights, they plan their stays to take in various events and activities, one of which might be attending a live concert. Wouldn't you think they'd pick a Sunday night concert to see Ritchie Havens for free, ahead of a Thursday night program to see Eric Lewis for $10, given that they're here both nights? Also, what ultimately is achieved when a large venue like the Peg Egan can use their financial might to attract quality acts, and present them at no cost to the public? Well, it means that smaller venue owners are pushed into waiving a cover charge and in doing so need to book musicians who demand a smaller fee. This puts us on a downward spiral where the integrity and quality of our programs are negatively impacted and our reputations as music venues are downgraded. Fewer people in attendance is the harsh reality.
My prediction is that we're heading for a music scene dominated by a few larger venues, delivering quality acts at little or no cost to the public, and maybe a handful of smaller venues like the Hitching Post who'll need to downgrade the quality of their music to stay open. The many taverns/restaurants jumping on the music bandwagon will soon learn the true cost of staging a music program and in many cases realize that it wasn't all that it was made out to be.

So that's the venue owners, now what about the local musicians? We have quality musicians right here in Door County and they're probably going to have to play for less in DC, which means they may need to travel more to sustain a living. How is that going to play out in the longer term? Shouldn't we put our locals first? Why isn't there a space for more of our local musicians at the Peg Egan Center? Well if I asked that question of the organizers I'm sure I'd hear the answer that local musicians wouldn't be such a big draw so there wouldn't be the benefit to the local business community who feed off of the crowds on a Sunday night. That of course would be a BS answer (I've already heard it said). What's wrong with Seth Raddetz opening for Tab Benoit? - it's a community program isn't it?

The bottom line is that if places like the Peg Egan center are truly built on the principals of giving back to the local community, then they really need to take a close look at the impact of their operation on people who live and work here, and not just the traveling tourist. Musicians, venue owners, tavern owners are all being impacted by what they do, shouldn't a community driven performing arts center take them into account too, and I mean beyond the fast-fix influx of extra revenue that a half dozen or so business see on Sunday nights?
Stop being so bloody insular and protective! - This facility was donated to the Village, let the Village have more of a voice in how it is used.

I don't want to end this on a negative note, so here's my take on some of the more groovy goings on around Door County.
Hans Christian has a recording studio in Sturgeon Bay that can only help in putting Door County on the music map, kudos to Hans for the time and energy he puts into the local music scene.
The Hitching Post is kind of a neat place to experience raw, down and dirty local music performed by some of the area's raging talents, Seth Raddetz hosts their open mic every Thursday with his pop Mark.
Gordon Lodge continues with their outdoor music program and focuses more on the jazz genre, which frankly I find quite refreshing. They have the benefit of being a destination for good food in a nice setting, it troubles me a little that the music seems to be secondary to many of the people in attendance, but that's just a fact of life I guess.
The Holiday Motel has opened recently in Sturgeon Bay, they have a head start on the local music scene with the involvement from music legend Pat Macdonald. It will be interesting to see where that goes in the future.
Joe Joe's Pizza runs a live program through the Winter, and though I haven't been there I respect what the owner is trying to do very much.
Local bars like the AC Tap, Husby's and Mojo's do their part too, I'm never sure what the real motivation is but it's live music so you have to thank them for supporting it.
The Ladder House in Sturgeon Bay too, they house the Art of Music program through the Winter and it's good to keep music alive after the tourists have split.

I don't have a solution to the problems and I probably haven't articulated them very well either. The Peg Egan Center and the free concerts in the park are set to stay, the rest of us will have to find a way to deal with it.

CH

PS - Please comment if you have an opinion on this, I'm sure many will disagree with some or all of what I've said, but I'd like your opinion anyway!!