Dani Grant, owner of Mishawaka Amphitheatre and Chipper's Lanes, is leading Black Fret’s Colorado launch committee. She became interested in working with the organization after attending its annual ball in Austin, where the musicians that Black Fret sponsors received checks of upwards of $25,000. “Eight years in, Austin has 650 members, and they gave out $252,000 last year," she says.
“Black Fret wanted to come to Colorado next; they had it in mind,” she continues. “But Seattle had a very eager base, so they did their second chapter there, and then COVID hit. But in three years, they have over 150 members.”
When looking for a third city, Denver once again came up. “They did an analysis, and Denver was in the top five,” Grant recalls. “Then they had some really good people on that task force, like me, who got sucked in. They asked me if I would help launch it, and I was on board. By launching it, they meant, 'Go meet with people and tell them what we’re doing, talk with other nonprofits, venues, musicians — put the idea forward and find people who respond to it and launch committee members who will be a part of the process.'”
One of those committee members is Chris Brown, founder of entertainment agency Backline Partners, who got involved through Roots Music Project founder Dave Kennedy, another launch committee advisor. “I’m passionate about helping local artists find their way and giving them consistency and frequency of playing gigs and actually make a living,” Brown says. “The more spaces we activate, the more the artists can play, and once we find an artist, we can find them as many opportunities as they want, because we aren’t held back by selling tickets or radius clauses.”
“It’s about finding artists who are up-and-coming, providing advisors to them, providing opportunities for them to earn money in a private setting, and pooling together like-minded patrons who want to support and be involved, don’t go to clubs anymore but want to stay connected and feel like they’re impacting the trajectory of great musicians,” Grant adds.
Every Black Fret year starts with a listening period, when members can nominate bands to play its concerts and choose ten that will be eligible for awards and prizes at the end of the season, handed out at an annual Black Fret showcase. The Colorado kickoff was at Grant's home; so far, Black Fret has hosted more than eight shows with over forty Colorado artists.
“There are no genre boundaries,” Grant says of the artist selection process. “And the patrons we’re looking for are patrons that are open to all kinds of music. This isn’t your white-man jam-band patronage foundation. And we’re different from Swallow Hill, as well, which is a more niche, folk type of situation. This is all genres — in fact, I think we will work very hard to make sure we represent as many different genres as we can in a class. And we’ll be straightforward and up front about the fact that we’re not going to allow a vote of ten jam bands. We’re going to put our thumb on the scale.”
“Genres, genders and ethnicities are all factors we’re trying to be conscious about,” Brown says.
On May 12, Black Fret will announce its first class of musicians in the state: Big Richard, iZCALLi, Alysia Kraft, Kayla Marque, Zoe Berman, Bevin Luna, Claire Heywood, N3ptune, the Sickly Hecks and Veronica May. All will be eligible to win cash or supplies from Black Fret; the winners will be announced at the Underground Music Showcase in July.
“Everybody is paid to play, but only the ten bands nominated will be voted on for the grants,” Grant explains. “This year, there will be five bands that win $1,000 and five bands that win $4,000, because there’s a limited amount of money. I’m trying to create an opportunity where studio time is donated or equipment is donated to put together a kind of consolation package for those who win the $1,000. Because really, these are intended to be game-changing grants, but this is just a micro-season.”
And Black Fret aims to be game-changing for audiences, too, bringing music to older community members who may not be able or willing to go to packed concerts. As a result, the group's members, from Seattle to Colorado to Austin, consist largely of well-meaning, mostly Gen X former yuppies who still want to hear new music and meet the musicians who play it. “We want to hang out with musicians!” Grant says. “Like, it’s fun. What’s more interesting than that?”
“Yeah, you can talk with them and understand their journey,” Brown adds.
“People in their forties, fifties, sixties — we weren’t listening to symphonic music; we were listening to the Cure and New Order,” Grant continues. “Our music is not necessarily classic rock. It’s about finding people like us who still enjoy music and new stuff coming out. It’s finding that patron, which is a subset of the whole forty-to-sixty demo.”
That patron is also more likely to be able to handle the $750 membership fee. “We are trying to create avenues for access, including scholarships, incentives for members who can provide a membership to an artist,” Grant says. “Bring four members, you become a member for free. And if your band is nominated, you become a voting member the following year. Ultimately, the members' fees furnish the grants, so there is a need for those memberships to provide monetary support. The more paying members, the more money in the hands of artists.
“The bands that play the performances are Black Fret criteria-fitting bands,” she continues. “We invite ten bands, we nominate ten bands, and they’re in the running for the money. But they don’t have to play a performance in order to be a part of this — there’s no quid pro quo. Along the way, we try to bring in new, interesting bands that may not be in the class but could be in it next year. So the hope is we have ten bands, plus 25 other bands that get sprinkled in throughout the season.”
At the moment, you don’t need a membership to attend a Black Fret concert, because the nonprofit wants to generate as much interest as possible. “And all the nominated bands get invited to all the performances up front, too,” Grant says, adding that this provides musicians with the opportunity to meet other community members and network — sometimes with other artists in the Black Fret universe. “Getting an opportunity to get connected beyond your own mini-market is next-level,” she adds. “If you have an opportunity to play in Austin and Seattle, that just changes the other opportunities that you have."
During its inaugural season in Colorado, Black Fret aims to host one to four shows a month along the Front Range. So far, it has partnered with venues and music organizations including Meow Wolf, Swallow Hill, Mishawaka Amphitheatre, Roots Music Project, Enigma Bazaar, Vultures, Number Thirty Eight, the Rayback Collective and Levitt Pavilion; it hosted a free concert this past weekend at the Launching Pad. It also has received sponsorships from Tito’s Vodka, WeldWerks Brewing and LaCrosse Distilling Co.
Grant is excited that Black Fret will give Colorado musicians both funds and the opportunity to further their careers.
Grant is excited that Black Fret will give Colorado musicians both funds and the opportunity to further their careers.
“Where else do you see money go into the hands of the artist?” Grant says. “I feel like there are so many wonderfully intended organizations out there that are like, ‘Oh, give us the money and we’ll parse it out to the artists through these services.’ Because there’s a fear of what the artist will do with five grand? And the reality is: They’re going to do what they need to do for their careers.
“We’re trying to get them to the place where they can earn a living wage as a musician.”
Black Fret's next event will be June 11 at Number Thirty Eight. On July 30, a Black Fret event at the Underground Music Showcase will serve as an awards ceremony. Find more information at blackfret.org.
