After ten years of tours and 1,200 shows, Jesse Elliott is putting down roots. The longtime touring musician, who’s worked previously in developing music initiatives, producing and booking festivals and co-founding a community nonprofit, was announced as director of the Fort Collins Music District on Monday.
An intentional arts community and shared space for musicians and music-centric businesses, the Music District is set to open the doors of its 5-building, 57,000-square-foot campus later this year, likely in September.
Of its five buildings, three are finished — two of which are the large eastern-facing former homes at 633 and 639 South College Ave., which were built in 1909 and 1910, respectively.
“They’re affectionately referred to as the sisters — twin sisters,” Elliott said, later adding that the small carriage house located behind them, which will serve as an administrative office, is appropriately named “little brother.”
The two homes are connected and, walking through them, Elliott points out each room, moving from a reception area and lounge to a meeting space, to a planned media library and large performance hall, which will serve as a training ground for people to practice the performance and logistical aspects of a concert.
Three rehearsal spaces on the main floor are fully soundproofed and will eventually be fully backlined. And, upstairs, practice rooms sit as blank canvases. Referring to it as “community-driven programming,” Elliott says the spaces will likely evolve, drawing on the needs of those in the building — maybe one room will end up as a dedicated mixing room; another could be just for guitar lessons.
On the top floor, at the highest point in both buildings, a window overlooks College Avenue from a spacious multipurpose room, which Elliott says he envisions songwriters retreating to.
Next door, as construction rages on, Elliott delved into the business side of things. The building on the campus’ north side will eventually be home to the district’s music-centric business tenants, one of which was announced as local radio station KRFC. Another space north of the “sisters” will include two residences and, downstairs, retail.
Elliott says he envisions the Music District as a mix of shared spaces open to the public — like the upstairs songwriting haven or downstairs lounge area — and spaces that can be rented, like rehearsal and practice rooms and a separate meeting space.
Jesse Elliott was announced the director of the Music
Tom Scharf, the music programs director at Bohemian Foundation, likened the District to another link in Bohemian Foundation’s ecosystem. The Music District, while its own entity, is supported by Bohemian Foundation.
“The (Bohemian) venues, the Armory and Washington’s, and our granting programs, Pianos About Town, they all connect, but this is really a different kind of model and sort of the linchpin — in our view — to what the ecosystem is about,” Scharf said.
“This (the Music District) is about artist development and music-related businesses growing up and feeding the rest of the system, which is the festivals and the venues,” Scharf said.
Elliott, who’s worked on the Music District as a consultant for the past year and a half, said the role of director will combine his past experiences, jobs and passions under one roof. And he’s hitting the ground running.
“Today, as we speak, I’m directing,” he said with a laugh. He’ll eventually start working on hiring a staff and ironing out some of the operational aspects of the district.
And, when it’s all said and done, he’s most excited about adding one thing.
“People,” he said. “We have all these amazing thoughts and ideas and ambitions and goals, and now we just need some awesome people here to use it all.”
Well, if you build it, they will come.
[Thank you to Alex Teitz, http://www.femmusic.com, for contributing this article.]