BRATTLEBORO-The Stone Church on Main Street had been hosting an eclectic range of music for several years. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and forced it and other music venues to close.
That, recalls Stone Church owner and general manager Robin Johnson, "was a dark day for venues nationwide."
While support emerged for small businesses and nonprofits, independent entertainment venue owners were ill served.
Thus, the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) was founded in April 2020, about one month into the pandemic. Stone Church joined that May.
Executive Director Stephen Parker said its mission was to advocate for proposed federal legislation that became the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG), a $16.25 billion one-round funding program behind which NIVA was the driving force.
NIVA's membership has since grown to some 1,500 independent promoters and venues, a mix of nonprofits and for-profits nationwide, all motivated by the fact that "that was the sector with no representation" for pandemic-necessitated assistance, Johnson recalls.
Fast-forward several years. The Stone Church has resumed its live events and offers eight to 14 shows a month - folk, metal, punk, even jazz.
And NIVA remains active, even after the pandemic, to "cultivate, elevate, and advocate for a sustainable and equitable ecosystem of independent performance venues, festivals, and promoters," according to its website.
Among NIVA's mission-driven programs is a Live Independent certification, which Stone Church has recently been awarded.
According to a venue press release, the designation recognizes the award recipient's "commitment to delivering top-quality live performances while supporting fair practices and maintaining independence from multinational conglomerates."
The program, the release continues, "is a groundbreaking initiative among a select group of independent venues, festivals, promoters across the country" that demonstrate:
• A mission centered around delivering music, comedy, and performance to audiences;
• Fair payment practices for all artists, performers, and creators;
• Independence from multinational conglomerates or publicly traded companies;
• Support for a transparent, competitive marketplace and a diverse, inclusive community;
• A commitment to protecting and preserving independent stages through NIVA membership.
Johnson says the Live Independent seal can assure fans that their expenditures on event tickets, beverages, and food "will help support the independent music ecosystem."
Strength in numbers
Supported by the live event discovery platform Bandsintown, the new initiative is designed "to enhance the quality and sustainability of independent live entertainment while preserving the authentic and unique spirit that defines these cultural hubs. Live Independent aims to get more fans to come to [...] and to convince more artists to play independent stages," NIVA's website explains.
For Stone Church, the Bandsintown affiliation will boost promotion and awareness, as will its presence on NIVA's dedicated "Live Independent" page, where audiences can learn about events as well as about the importance of supporting certified venues and their offerings.
The criteria for the granting of that certification, Johnson explains, are based on NIVA's definition of a music venue as an entity with "a designated stage and equipment, paid entry for performances, [and] fair compensation for artists and designated staff."
That venue designation has grown, Johnson observes, into one similar to "USDA Organic: It's something you can see, the B Corp or Certified Organic of the live music world."
NIVA is designated by the Internal Revenue Service as a nonprofit organization among the likes of chambers of commerce and business associations. (It is similar to a charity but donors aren't permitted to deduct donations from their income for tax purposes.) The group "is a trade organization, which we didn't have before," Johnson explains.
Members benefit from food and beverage savings and discounts on essential software. They also benefit from advocacy at state and national levels. With a lobbyist in Washington, the current national advocacy dials in on ticketing issues, both federally and in practically every state legislature, says Johnson.
When he was still in the U.S. House of Representatives, Peter Welch, now a U.S. senator, was one of several legislators to introduce the Fans First Act (S. 3457) which, as explained on NIVA's website, addresses "flaws in the current live event ticketing system by increasing transparency in ticket sales, protecting consumers from fake or dramatically overpriced tickets, and holding bad actors who engage in illegal ticket sale practices accountable."
Of the state of affairs in Washington vis-à-vis NIVA's efforts, Parker reassures: "I have faith that we can see movement on ticketing and consumer protections. The work that has been done at the state level and at the federal level has been bipartisan."
Parker believes that "this is an opportunity to really move the needle and convince Congress and the new Trump administration that this is a cause worth taking up."
That opportunity will come with "a lot of education, and with a lot of fans and small business owners we represent talking about how fans and artists are being victimized by secondary resellers every day," he says.
Such efforts can only boost those opportunities of Stone Church, Johnson says.
"We're a pretty disadvantaged area for bringing in entertainment, just because we don't have a huge population base," he observes, "and now we don't have any students, any colleges here."
"And it's a competitive area," Johnson continues. "With resurgence in Western Massachusetts recently with Tree House [Brewing Company, in Deerfield] and Iron Horse [Music Hall, in Northampton] coming back, there's no shortage of things to do."
From worship to Omega to music
Stone Church, built in 1875, had closed its doors to worship in 1970 when All Souls Church moved to its new facility in West Brattleboro.
In 1973, the Johnson family bought it and it became a facility for Omega Optical, founded in 1969 by Johnson's father, Bob. In 2016, it was fully renovated to what it is today - a bustling venue led by Robin Johnson.
Johnson grew up in Brattleboro and has spent most of his time in the area, graduating from Brattleboro Union High School before moving on to Hampshire College.
And he put in hours at the family business. Sitting in Stone Church's basement greenroom, Johnson points to a wall nearby.
"I worked right here when this was Omega Optical [...] I worked on a Mars Rover project and the Human Genome Sequencing project," he says.
Through it all, Johnson - a self-described singer-songwriter type - has exercised a lifelong passion for music, for keeping the music going.
Stone Church is a pretty bare-bones operation. In addition to Johnson, there's a part-time staffer in administration and another on the tech side. For any given event, some 15 to 20 will freelance hourly for staffing the door, the bar, and certain tech duties.
A Victorian Gothic structure, Stone Church boasts decor that, according to its website, "expresses the culturally inclusive nature of the original congregation, mixing elements of the Renaissance with Gothic Revival, Celtic, and Scandinavian folk designs."
The website describes the restoration process as a continuous "dance between creating a modern venue and preserving the patina and soul" of the 150-year-old building, including use of original materials "in order to maintain the spirit of the room, and blend new features into the old" - among them, pew dividers and other architectural features.
Johnson says he's contemplating establishing a nonprofit arm of the for-profit venue operation which would focus on education and outreach offering opportunities and training for more marginalized groups.
While Johnson seems to operate with a full tank of energy to keep the venue going, he's clearly relieved to know NIVA's behind him, and the Live Independent certificate is out front.
Moving forward post-pandemic, Parker explains that NIVA intends to support Johnson and other venue members of the organization in a few key ways.
"One, we're going to continue to advocate on a variety of issues on behalf of independent live entertainment at the federal, state, and local levels," he says.
Next, "we are trying to create more value and use our collective power to make life easier for members," Parker says - for example, by launching a group discount program called NIVA Savings and by furthering the Certified Live Independent initiative.
"Third, "Parker adds, "is making sure that we are better at telling the story of independent venues, promoters, festivals, and performing arts centers across the country."
"And that's where our top priority next year takes over," he concludes. "'The State of Live' is the name of our economic research initiative," the goal of which is to launch a comprehensive survey canvassing thousands of concerned entities nationwide, "so that when we unveil this economic research at our conference in June, we will shake the world in showing not only what our potential is in terms of the economy, but also what our contribution is in terms of culture."
This Arts item by Annie Landenberger was written for The Commons.