Digging deep into its place within the West Michigan music scene, The Intersection plans to expand its current location by renovating its lower level.
Aiming to start work in the very near future, The Intersection will open two new venue spaces underneath its existing building. The conversion is taking place sometime this summer, with plans to open both new venues by fall.
The other room will be a brand-new 800-capacity concert space to help add to the slate of diverse touring, local and regional artists already making The Intersection one of the top-selling music clubs in the nation.
“We’ve almost doubled our business in The Stache in comparison to the previous year and this year looks like it will be even better,” Hammontree said. “In addition we’ve become a bit more aggressive in looking at special events, but our showroom is typically not available. All things seemed to point to developing both new spaces.”
Previously used primarily for storage, the two new venue spaces will be built from scratch in terms of décor, design and more. The conversion construction will not affect any of the current venue spaces, nor interfere with The Intersection’s busy schedule of events this summer.
“Right off the bat there will be another 60 to 80 shows that maybe have skipped Grand Rapids (in the past) or had to wait for right time to play one of our rooms,” Hammontree said. “This naturally will also provide more opportunities for local acts to be on those shows. We think there are some specific genres that we could serve better in the 800-capacity room.”
Not a believer in “scaling” a larger room to fit a smaller-scale concert, Hammontree added that he believes the new spaces will give The Intersection greater flexibility in both booking and implementation of shows.
The venue already has future plans for utilizing all four venues within its building for larger, multi-room genre-based events, in the vein of a music festival entirely indoors.
“It gives us the unique ability to grow with an act as they develop and to be able to offer them a venue that is appropriate for their audience,” Hammontree said. “The right room and energy can make the entire event that much more exciting for the artist and the crowd.”
The Intersection
133 Grandville Ave. SW, Grand Rapids
sectionlive.com, (616) 723-8080
