Jordan T reaches out to a fan at a concert in 2019 at the Brewery Arts Center in Carson City.
Melody Hoover Photography
Brewery Arts Center Executive Director Spike McGuire, 37, believes free live music can save the world.
“It’s a great uniter,” he said. “And that’s what we need more than anything right now, ways of getting the citizens of America united again.”
The nonprofit is raising money for a new mobile stage for the Levitt AMP Concert Series, which is held throughout 10 consecutive summer Saturdays on the BAC campus. The ask for the campaign is $250,000 for a new stage, site repair near the BAC Performance Hall where the stage will sit and for a lighting package.
“Going into the eighth year of putting on free shows, if people have come out and have had a good time a few times, that’s reason enough alone to donate right there. To keep this whole wonderful thing going,” said McGuire.
The concert series started in 2016 with a grant from the Levitt Foundation.
“It’s a really cool thing that we get to be a part of, and it’s actually one of the main things that attracted me to the job here at the Brewery Arts Center,” McGuire said. “It’s a really awesome network to be part of, and they’re doing incredible work on a national scale.”
McGuire said BAC reapplies for the Levitt grant to keep the program in Carson going.
Scott Neuffer / Nevada Appeal
“I’m pretty confident Carson City will continue to receive funding. I think we’re one of the most successful Levitt AMPs in the network,” he said.
At the same time, he added: “We’ve done this long enough to know we’re doing summer concerts every year. Even if we weren’t going to get the grant funding, we would still be finding a way to do these concerts.”
In past years, BAC has rented a stage from production partner KD Sound Co., a local company that McGuire called one of the best in the business. Unfortunately, KD’s stage is in high demand, he said, and booking it for a whole season has become tricky.
McGuire also pointed out BAC takes lights from the campus theaters for the concert series.
“Right now, in the summer concerts, we take all the lights out of the Maizie theater and the Performance Hall,” he said. “It’s not that we mind doing it, but it takes away a lot of options of other events we might be able to do just because we don’t have any lights in theaters.”
The new stage will change BAC for the better, McGuire said, emphasizing two people can set it up in less than an hour.
“It’s also going to open up opportunities for us to partner with more Carson City events and kind of help up the production quality of festivals all over town,” he said. “The possibilities are endless.”
As of Friday, the campaign for the stage still needed more than $30,000. A big chunk of the grand total was met by Washoe Valley resident Don Kuhl, who donated $100,000, McGuire said.
McGuire, himself a musician, performed in the concert series before taking the director position last year.
“It’s such a great opportunity I’ve got to enjoy several times myself, so now I’m happy to be on the other side providing that opportunity for other artists,” he said.
Each concert averages at least 2,000 attendees, McGuire said, and families can find food trucks and a dedicated youth area.
“We get little kids that barely walk out there dancing up a storm,” he said. “We had someone celebrate their 97th birthday at one of the concerts last year. It’s just a really cool multigenerational experience.”
Donations can be dropped off at the BAC Exhibition Hall located at 449 W. King St. noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. For more information or to donate online, visit https://breweryarts.org/donate/.