Months in the making, The Intersection will unveil its latest project this month with the opening of its new concert venue space: Elevation, and its new VIP room: The Mint.
Located in what was previously The Intersection’s basement, the 800-person capacity Elevation will help the venue showcase even more diverse national, regional and local artists. The Mint, meanwhile, will give The Intersection a long-desired VIP area designed for after-parties, meet-and-greet events, and intimate performances for a crowd of approximately 150.
Already one of the biggest selling music clubs in the country, The Intersection hosted more than 230 concerts last year in its 1,500-capacity showroom, and its 400-capacity front lounge, also known as The Stache. The venue plans to put on closer to 300 events this year with the addition of the two new spaces.
“It’s a big year for The Intersection, because we’re growing,” Intersection talent-buyer and co-owner Scott Hammontree told Revue. “We’re taking a big swing, (with) four venues under one roof and what that takes to run and operate and manage and produce.”
Hammontree and Intersection co-owner Joel Langlois began talks of developing the basement last spring, and spent the better part of the last year working on intense renovations that included new bathrooms and bars being built in the basement. The venue has also taken on additional staffing to help oversee and operate the new venue spaces.
“We’ve sold out The Stache so many times the last year that we could have sold more tickets, but we couldn’t,” Hammontree said. “So we thought this would give us (more) flexibility and versatility.”
Following a soft opening, Elevation will open officially this month and host North Carolina space-rock band Papadosio and Grand Rapids’ own Desmond Jones on March 17. A full schedule of future events slated for Elevation and The Mint will be coming soon.
“Our target is that the right artist plays in the right room for how many people are going to come to see them,” Hammontree said. “We’re already talking about The Jammies next year being all four stages, which is really cool. It would give us a chance to involve so many more local acts.”
Hammontree added that The Intersection could also host additional branded events, like the Bass Country shows it currently hosts that typically sell out its main showroom, and expand those into four-venue, full-building events.
“We could put 2,600-plus people in here, where one ticket would allow you to roam from stage to stage to stage to check out who’s playing,” he said.
Looking to upgrade the concert-going experience here in West Michigan, Hammontree added that the new venues’ names encapsulate how The Intersection plans to take things to the next level.
“Once we heard ‘The Mint,’ it felt VIP, it felt a little nicer, and we’re definitely going to swag it out,” he said of naming the two new spaces. “With Elevation, what we’re doing in that space is taking artists that are in development and we’re trying to get them in bigger rooms, develop their fan base, and in essence, elevate them to something bigger.”
The Intersection
133 Grandville Ave. SW, Grand Rapids
sectionlive.com, (616) 723-8080
