Hello, this is "Let's Talk GR Music"

There is no denying the growth within the City of Grand Rapids. There are so many new places, faces and feelings and so many more opportunities available for some. For the Grand Rapids music community the opportunities are starting to pop up more and more. I’d even say this might be the most optimistic I’ve seen the music community be since I started playing music here 15 years ago.

My name is Scott Rider and I play drums in the band VALENTIGER. I also host an open mic night and a monthly music meet up call “Let’s Talk GR Music." I started the “Let’s Talk GR Music” because I saw a disconnect with all that was going on around me in our music community. I saw strong scenes and not a whole lot of collaboration between them.

This made me curious. How can you connect the dots?

For me, the best idea was to take something that everyone is already doing and centralize it. Let’s Talk GR Music is nothing more than an opportunity to meet up with people involved or interested in our local music community and talk.

Meetings take place on the last Monday of each month at the Wealthy St. Theater Annex located at 1110 Wealthy St. SE. The meetings start at 7:00 p.m. and everyone is welcomed to join. We pick a topic to focus on and I find someone in the local music community to speak and help answer questions. Typically we end the discussion at 8 p.m. to leave time for people to meet and greet a new face.  

The point is to connect and learn. Each night brings diversity in culture, experience, philosophy, and goals. The hope is that Let’s Talk GR Music can inspire even more growth and energy that can help create an even stronger music culture in Grand Rapids.

Anyone interested in these meetings can find more info at The Rapidian, by searching “Let’s Talk GR Music” on Facebook or following the Twitter handle @LetsTalkGRMusic.

Come be a part of your Grand Rapids music community and let’s talk.