The Spot Marks The Spot For A Cool New Music Spot
The following article is part of QuadCities.com’s partnership with local music website The Echo. For more, check out theechoqc.com!
Echo: How did you get started with the Spot?
Wes Julien: The process started around 2019. We were kind of getting things back together in this space and looking to rebuild. We’re thankful to have been able to link up with my friends and be able to start back over again and start something fresh here in this space. It’s been a 2.5-year process. From just getting things going to having to pause because of COVID and working to just rebuild again. It’s been really dope I’m really thankful to be doing something really amazing with friends that I trust and that I rock with. We’ve all been along with 
each other’s journeys. It’s great to do this together.
Tayvian Johnson: All of us have performed here at least once. Being in this space that we have all used and utilized is super cool.
E: Is there anything coming up that you are excited for?
Brian Fanning: Notably coming up, every third Sunday of the month we have Polyrhythms is doing an open jam and performance here. During the month of August, Alternating Currents will be happening here for the first time ever. That’s really something we’re all excited about. We have a couple of acts from out of town coming in and local acts. Roaring Rhetoric is a poetry event that happens on the first Friday of every month. We have some music, some poetry, a couple of things for the arts, like painting events and stuff like that. We’re definitely excited for the future.
T: We’re going to be doing open mic nights that are going to be free to the people performing. And we’ll do a list sign-up, but getting people out and doing stuff in a different environment than people have been used to for the past 18 months. The grand opening is coming soon.
E: What do you think are the special qualities of this space?
T: The pit-style venue is a big one. Having the stage being lower than the viewing area is something that I have only seen in an amphitheater setting. Having that in a local small setting is kind of cool.
Heather Lawver: Something that is really interesting is the history of the building and how it has brought communities together in the past. There’s a lot of local musicians that have come through for events that they used to have this stuff going on in this room 20 or 30 years ago. There’s been this huge break in that because of all the diversity and the cultures not being able to do what they needed to do to show their talent. People are really excited about coming out and showing what they have. Even the age range, 30’s to 65, is interesting, and they really enjoyed themselves. They felt like their group could get together and jam out and also have conversations and vibe and connect with people in other age brackets.
W: A little bit of everyone can be here from every walk of life. They all have a love for the art and the culture that’s here. That is what brings everyone together, is the art. To see that – no matter your ethnicity or your class bracket – it’s all about the art and having a good time and enjoying yourself and the experience, not just coming to a show. Literally just having a real experience, I think that is what makes this place so special is that we give experiences.
To read the rest of this article, check it out on The Echo HERE.
