DAVENPORT -- As the River Music Experience, 129 Main St., starts a four-day celebration next week to mark its 10th anniversary, the nonprofit also marks key turning points in its evolution.
It's got a new CEO, a revitalized mission, removal of landlord obligations, and is enjoying growth in membership and educational outreach. That hardly means RME -- which hosted about 150 concerts the past year, attracting 28,000 patrons -- is free of challenges.
"It's the same challenge as most non-profits – funding," board member (and former chair) Tracy Schwind said recently. "We are dependent on donors and sponsors who believe in our work, and importance of our organization in the community to survive. The RME has evolved and changed over the years and are now in a place to really focus on our mission and move forward into the next decade."
The board and eight full-time staff (there are 20 total employees, which rise for events) are excited to have Deb Sandry-Powers as the new chief executive, the latest of several leaders over the first decade, Ms. Schwind said.
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"She is going to do a great job sharing our story with the community and allowing more people to become aware of the great things we're doing," she said.
"I've got really high hopes for what she's gonna be able to accomplish. She's really well-respected," said Ellis Kell, director of programming and community outreach, a local blues musician who's been with RME since it opened its doors June 12, 2004.
"The picture has changed radically. We don't have as many expenses and we're not taking as much in, because we're not a landlord," he said of the four-story Redstone Building, which the RME formerly owned but now is managed in a separate trust by a commercial real estate company. "It balances out, and it's a lot better for us because we don't have the responsibility for property management, whereas before, that's what buried us."
RME occupies the first two floors of the building, and in January started leasing out its former ground-floor cafe to Falbo Bros. Pizzeria, which took on renovation costs for its opening. RME still books musical acts for the community stage there.
"We weeded things out, to concentrate on what we do -- live music and programming," said programming assistant Bret Dale, who started in 2010 and has worked as cafe manager and Redstone Room manager. "We're not a landlord. We don't run a cafe. All that stuff adds up, and it was detracting from what we really do. The greatest thing we did was pass that hat off."
Ms. Sandry-Powers (who just started last month) wants to erase the RME's long-term debt of $180,000 and improve public awareness. "That's probably the biggest challenge the organization has had. They've reinvented themselves a couple of times; they're out of the coffee shop business. Now they're acting like a nonprofit, sticking close to their mission," she said recently.
As part of fundraising, she wants to boost sponsorships, memberships, and rental of space to other organizations and area events.
Ms. Sandry-Powers was development director for the Quad City Symphony for eight years and executive director for the Dubuque Symphony for a year and a half until she moved back to the Q-C in February.
Changing from a museum to live-music emphasis
The RME project was launched to build on the Quad-Cities' reputation as a hub for regional music festivals and honor its musical heritage with a permanent, national tribute to American roots music, according to rivermusicexperience.org.
The $7-million renovation of the 1892 Redstone Building at 2nd and Main was part of Davenport's "River Renaissance," a project funded with the state's Vision Iowa program, the city, Scott County and private investors. River Renaissance was approved by 73 percent of Scott County voters in the fall of 2001 to capitalize on the energy and beauty of the Mississippi riverfront.
The RME began primarily as a museum celebrating roots music and the area's musical heritage, but the organization responded to community needs and altered its mission to host more live music and create a larger base of educational programming and more opportunities for local musicians to perform.
This led to the creation of a live music venue (The Redstone Room, opened in 2006), an educational recording studio (The Sound Lab at RME), and programs like Rock Camp USA and a partnership with West Music to provide instrumental music lessons.
"When they first put the place together, it was more a repository or a museum for American roots music," Mr. Kell said, noting the Redstone Room space first housed a multi-screen "River Wall" exhibit. "We found out we can't afford changing exhibits all the time, like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or Experience Music Project. It gets real expensive.
"We also found, people would come one time and that's it," he said. "We needed to draw return visits. It shifted in the priorities. It's like the museum part went down here, and the programming part went up here."
"The touring artists that come through here, after the show, they say, 'Wow, big cities don't even have this. This is amazing,' " said Kate Benson, RME director of entertainment, who books artists. "They want to come back because there's a good energy."
Rusty Unterzuber of Davenport (among about 250 "Friends of RME," triple the amount 15 months ago) said he and his wife Doris support the group partly because of "the unbelievable array and phenomenal quality of musical performances they provide the community at extremely low costs."
"RME, especially through the Redstone Room, presents artists that typically you have to travel to larger cities to enjoy," he said recently. "And the ticket cost is less than what you would pay for parking in those larger venues. The cultural enrichment and enjoyment these events provide in such a great venue strengthens the Quad-Cities' reputation as a great community."
Mr. Kell -- who has been a grant writer at RME for years and will continue to do so -- said the Polyrhythms Third Sunday Jazz series embodies this ideal. He credited series organizer Nate Lawrence for providing a unique jazz outlet in the area.
"It's an uphill battle, but I think he's done really well with it," Mr. Kell said of the challenge of getting people out on Sunday nights. "I think he's gotten the best talent for the money. The caliber of the people he brings in here, he's had some pretty good stuff."
"We need to educate people in the community and say if you went to Chicago or New Orleans to see this kind of thing, you wouldn't get in the door for less than 30 bucks," he added.
Willie Pickens, the first Third Sunday jazz artist at the Redstone, will return June 15 to help RME celebrate its anniversary. "He's a legendary jazz pianist," Mr. Kell said.
Ms. Benson fondly recalls booking Fitz and the Tantrums, before they were big, on a Monday night in February 2011.
"We were so excited to have them. People are flooding in," she said of that night. "Before you know it, the show is sold out, on a Monday night. I had never seen the dance floor so crowded and jam-packed. Everybody was having such a good time.
"That's why I love what I do -- to look around the room and see everybody enjoying themselves and really engaging in the music," Ms. Benson said, noting the wide array of music RME hosts. "I think what's really neat about us, we continue to bring in these unique acts that you don't always look for the stars in the world. But they have potential and talent."
"The RME brings all kinds of talent from all over the world to a community which probably wouldn't get the kind of high-caliber acts it has on a regular basis, if not for its existence," said musician Max Lipnick, a 19-year-old Davenport Central alum, who plays in the rock band FireSale while studying at the University of Iowa.
"It offers music workshops, three unique performance venues, and most importantly, education to the young musicians in a time where this type of education is being cut left and right," he said.
Education at the foundation of growth
Growing up in the Quad-Cities, Mr. Lipnick said RME "has really shaped me as a musician and human being; and I think that goes for so many other aspiring musicians in the community.
"In middle school, my band FireSale formed and because of the RME open-mic nights we had a constant place to play music, and practice performing live," he said. "Because our loving friends and fans came out and supported us, the RME offered us a monthly gig at Mojo's Cafe where we played two hour sets every first Friday. This helped us even further our skills as musicians, forcing us to build up our material and change up our setlists from month to month."
His guitar player Colton Menke and drummer Joe Verstraete were active in Rock Camp and Winter Blues Camps, "where they got to play with recognized musicians from the community who really bring the kids up to their level and make them feel like rock stars," Mr. Lipnick said. "This program helps kids move from just jamming simple chord progressions in basements, to recognizing how the song learning and writing process works, and the fun and enjoyment that you receive from demonstrating that progress in a live setting."
Rock Camp brings musicians age 8 – 18 together to form a band each summer. They work together over a two-week period and have a concert in the Redstone Room as a finale. Ms. Schwind's son Ben has been involved with Rock Camp since its inception here, first as a student and now as a counselor for the bands.
Prior to Rock Camp, Ben Schwind went to Chicago to a similar summer program. "These camps don't traditionally exist in smaller cities but I know there are many musicians and their families who are now very grateful that it does here," his mother said.
"Through the process, these young people learn incredibly important skills that go far beyond their musical ability," Ms. Schwind said. "They learn to work together as a team and they build incredible self-confidence. They learn to step outside their comfort zone, and at the end are able to step into the spotlight in a way that many of them could never have imagined."
Not counting Rock Camp, Winter Blues (held the week between Christmas and New Year's), Guitar Circle, Community Drum Circle, and Youth-kulele programs, RME has served over 6,500 students this past school year with educational programs -- at RME and in the community, including its Sound Lab and music lessons.
"Now there's more of us doing it, so we're covering some ground," Mr. Dale said, noting local musicians serve as "ambassadors" and are contracted to do programs at schools and other centers.
The "River Currents" program with the Figge Art Museum brings about 1,300 students to the RME a year just from Davenport schools. Mr. Dale heading up is outreach and Mr. Kell said Deere & Co. made it possible with an additional grant to take it out to schools. "That really expanded our reach," he said.
The outreach programs include Mr. Kell and Mr. Dale hosting the Mississippi Valley Blues Society's "Blues in the Schools."
"My greatest success is seeing a kid's face when we loan instruments for them to join band or orchestra because they can't afford an instrument," Mr. Dale said, noting he loves introducing them to famous stars like Elvis Presley, and the impact of artists along the length of the Mississippi. "They've never seen a record player or a record before. You make therm drop the needle and you see their whole life change in front of your eyes."
"Music is part of our everyday life. That's I think our greatest purpose for being here, the education," he said.
"The most important thing we do here is the void we fill because schools cut the arts all the time," Ms. Benson said. "That's where we come into play, to fill the void and keep the musical aspect alive."
"Since the very beginning, we teach kids all the stuff they listen to today, it wasn't just invented the last few years. It goes all the way back to slavery," Mr. Kell said. "Music has that thing of bringing everybody together. It shows them, music was connected to the Beatles, was connected to Robert Johnson, to the slaves, all one big thing -- a continuum of the development of music."
"I've been doing the school groups for 10 years and I look forward to every one," he added. "I never get tired of it, because of those kids. if someone would have told me a year before I worked here, 'You're gonna love working with little kids,' I would have told them 'You're out of your mind.' I thought I never had the patience, and once I started, I thought I should have started this a long time ago."
"We're here because we love it. We're not here because we love the paycheck," Mr. Dale said. "The camaraderie and the strength, we're all friends."
"I've learned more about music history working here than I ever had before," said Mo Carter, marketing and promotions coordinator, who also performs solo and in the local band, Busted Chandeliers. "I'm from St. Louis, and lived on the Mississippi River, but I didn't know anything about the history of the river and American roots music. These kids are learning so much more than I ever got to know."
What's ahead for RME?
About 18 months ago, the RME re-tooled its membership program and benefits and did a staff-wide drive to recruit new "Friends." Friends of RME (which is $60 a year per person or $120 per family) get drink specials during performances, free Redstone Room tickets (4 for a family), 10 percent off on all RME merchandise, and 15 percent off private event rentals.
Mr. Unterzuber of Davenport became a member five years ago and started attending more events with his wife, grew to sponsoring scholarships to Rock Camp for a couple of years, and they now regularly support RME through a multi-year pledge. They attend events about two or three times a month.
"We have attended many workshops and events where artists of all ages and skill levels are given the opportunity to perform in the various venues at RME," Mr. Unterzuber said. "Music is one of the arts that can make a difference and RME is here to make that happen."
Of new projects in the works, RME is looking forward to hosting Davenport students from the first class of the Creative Arts Academy; to housing a fall exhibit on Jewish rock musicians, and negotiating with WVIK Augustana Public Radio on the possibility of starting a weekly radio show.
Ms. Benson served on the Creative Arts Academy group that developed criteria for artist mentors. Once the magnet school starts in August, music students will come to RME for an hour a day, and be able to practice, and use the Sound Lab, she said.
The Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities and the RME are combining to stage "Jews Rock" in the fall of 2014, presented by the Riverboat Development Authority. Events planned include a photography exhibition, educational presentations and performances that highlight the role of Jews in modern music.
Mr. Kell is working with WVIK CEO Jay Pearce on a potential weekly RME radio hour on the public-radio station.
An RME radio presence in association with WVIK "would provide us with a great new platform to promote and extend our musical mission in and for the community, and will also provide WVIK with new programming content, i.e. traditional and contemporary American roots music, and the potential for artist interviews," Mr. Kell said by e-mail.
"It seems like a natural to partner with a fellow non-profit organization that has the expertise and following already in place," Mr. Pearce said, noting WVIK recently installed a transmitter capable of broadcasting on multiple digital, or HD, channels.
"I could see, if a weekly show is successfully launched, working toward expanding it into a full-time format for one of those channels," he said. "It would be available initially on HD radios, which are becoming more common in new cars, as well as streamed online."
RME also is waiting to finalize a contract for a long-awaited restoration of a double-keyboard 1896 Pleyel piano on the second floor. The unique instrument was given by an anonymous donor in 2009, and an area association of piano teachers raised $15,000 to get the piano in proper playing condition, Mr. Kell said.
"We're just waiting to get the final document," he said, which will specify how it will be restored and made available for a certain number of concerts per year. The historic double grand features a full keyboard at each end of the 8-foot-long instrument, with two separate sets of strings on a common sounding board.
10th anniversary events
RME's 10th anniversary will be celebrated with the following events:
Thursday, June 12
12 p.m. – Live Lunch Concert with Ellis Kell (free), RME Community Stage
5 p.m. – 10th Anniversary Outdoor Concert featuring MarchFourth Marching Band with The Winter Blues All-Stars (free), RME Courtyard
Friday, June 13
12 p.m. -- Live Lunch with Tony Hoeppner (free), RME Community Stage
5 p.m. -- Friday Live at 5 featuring The Candymakers (free), RME Courtyard
7 p.m. -- 6th Annual BeeRME for Music (second floor of RME); $25 for RME members and for groups of 5 or more. Non-member tickets are $30 in advance and $35 on that day.
Saturday, June 14
10:30 a.m. -- Junk Percussion & Drum Circle with Terry Hanson, RME Courtyard
12 p.m. – Live Lunch Concert (free) RME Community Stage
1 p.m. – Youth-kulele Kid's Ukulele Club, RME Hall
3 p.m. -- Songwriters All-Original Open Mic (free), RME Community Stage
5 p.m. -- Special Saturday Live at 5 featuring The Diplomats of Solid Sound (free), RME Courtyard
8:30 p.m. – David Mayfield Parade with special guest Lissie, Redstone Room; $15.
Sunday, June 15
3 p.m. and 6 p.m. -- Third Sunday Jazz Workshop & Performance with Willie Pickens, Redstone Room
For more information, visit rivermusicexperience.org.
