East Lansing bars, music lovers work to revive local music scene

EAST LANSING, Mich.—In the heart of East Lansing’s main strip on Albert Street, Mash opened this past January. The East Lansing Mash location is the latest location for the franchise, and Mash’s music booker Dan Laird wants the East Lansing location to serve as the “franchise model” for a local, thriving music venue. 

What sets Mash apart from its other locations is that it was specifically designed to host live music. The bar features a stage and hosts live music every Friday. Mash bar manager Tressa Harmon has noticed how offering live music has made a difference for the business. 

“It brings in a lot of students and then it brings a little bit of an older crowd, too, honestly. More of the parents and alumni show up on Fridays,” Harmon said. “There’ll be days where we’re super busy and it’s like, wow, this is actually a very popular place to be, and we have something that no one else does.”

Laird found that as a young adult in the Lansing area, local venues had trouble finding local talent. After attending Michigan State University in the ‘90s, Laird decided to stick around in the area. Laird started playing music at age 19 and became familiar with musicians in the Lansing area. He began frequently playing The Peanut Barrel in duo, The Swift Brothers. 

Becoming too busy to perform, Laird transitioned over into booking and opened Angry Talent Entertainment. Angry Talent is responsible for booking several venues in East Lansing including, Mash, Peanut Barrel and Harrison Roadhouse. 

“I was really excited that [the Peanut Barrel] had ambition to want to contribute and bring live music to their venue,” Laird said.

Laird had an advantage coming from a musician’s perspective. In his switch to booking, he realized the joy of contributing to bringing back music in the area. He also saw the struggle of trying to bring back music to the area. 

“As a musician, we’ve seen a ton of places where it’s like: Why don’t they have music? Or why can’t we get in there?” Laird said. “A lot of times it’s because, if they have music already, they don’t know musicians or they don’t know where to look.” 

Laird mentioned staple MSU locations Rick’s and Harper’s as two music venues that had unfortunately gone “silent” as a result. With Angry Talent, Laird is working hard to bring back live music in the area. And he’s not alone in his efforts. 

Chuck Mannino is the owner of Mac’s Bar on Michigan Ave. Mannino also attended MSU in the ‘90s and remembered attending Mac’s as a student. Mannino bought the venue in 2005 and was greeted to the same dingy ceilings and stained ‘80s carpet he knew as a student. Though full of memories, the venue needed some love. 

“We did more of a, like, restoration of the old building,” Mannino said. “Exposed brick walls and put a tin ceiling in and a wooden bar … make it more like a classic, timeless look.”

After completing renovations in 2023, Mannino has booked musicians who play everything from bluegrass to heavy metal, which packs the venue each night. Happy to cater to the diverse music tastes in the Lansing area. Mannino recalls experiencing live music as a student and enjoys welcoming them into Mac’s every night. 

“I just think that’s what college is,” Mannino said “When you go to college it’s eye-opening. You learn about all different kinds of music; you meet all different kinds of people who are into different things.”

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