NISSWA — “It’s a lot of work.”
Brainerd folk musician Kelley Smith laughed as she talked about the process of booking shows. For the past few years, it’s a topic she approached from the musician's perspective, looking to get a gig. Since she was announced as the new artistic director for the Grassroots Concert Series in July, she’s been on the other side of the equation.
The series began in the late ‘80s in living rooms and whatever spaces were available around the Nisswa area, bringing high-quality folk music to the north-central part of the state.
“That first year, Spider John Koerner was on the lineup,” Smith said. “And, you know, I think he’d been back to do the series maybe 10 to 12 times after that.”
A visit to the Grassroots website shows you many familiar faces in the folk music world: John Gorka, Charlie Parr, Martin Simpson, Catie Curtis, Leo Kottke — and the photo gallery goes on and on. Nationally touring artists are pictured alongside local legends, like the late Jim Miller, who played the first-ever Grassroots show.
Prior to taking on the new role, Smith had long been thinking about how to get more music in the area. On tour, she met other musicians interested in playing near her hometown but didn't have a good place to suggest to them. That all changed when Smith was invited by the previous Artistic Director Dawn Stattine, to play in 2023. Smith fell in love with the series and its current venue, the Journey Church in Nisswa.
For a brief period, she had a venue to suggest to folks she met on the road. But earlier this year, that, too, was up in the air when Stattine stepped back from her role and no one stepped up to fill it.
“When I found out the Grassroots series was going to close its doors last year, I thought, well, this is the perfect fit for me,” Smith said.
The first run of shows curated by Smith is underway. Show No. 1 was Oct. 24 with country and old-time group Roe Family Singers. A highlight for Smith was when a couple of young music fans got to chat it up with band members after the performance.
She emphasized the all-ages and intimate setting of the shows.
“That’s my dream for this series, is that we could, you know, have a multi-generational situation,” Smith said, “[and] that it would really be all about community.”
Due up next in the series is a fellow Kell(e)y: New Orleans-based songwriter Kelly Hunt on Friday, Nov. 7. Smith connected with Hunt while touring in Iowa (one of the many perks of being a musician as well as a booker) and describes Hunt’s debut album, Even the Sparrow, as a “book you can’t put down.”
After Hunt, The Weary Ramblers (described by Smith as “classic folk”) are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 21, and Jack Klatt (“unfair amount of swagger”) will close out the fall lineup on Friday, Dec. 5.
With such a long history in the local music scene, it is great to know the Grassroots Concert Series remains in good hands and will continue to bring music to the area.
“I just think it’s the cutest thing,” Smith said. “Grassroots Concerts — it’s more of a community and a moment that happens than it is a music venue."
