Founders of new artist showcase reflect on 2019

On a Wednesday night in Lansing, one has a greater chance of seeing a horde of stray plastic bags tumbling toward the Capitol building than a line of patrons waiting to get inside a music venue. That was until the minds behind The Artists Umbrella, a monthly variety show, developed a formula that induces residents to pause Netflix and show out for local talent. Their secret recipe is unlike any other, with a dose of experimental art, group hugs and Rhianna’s potent chart-toppers.

For the past seven months, the Artist Umbrella has brought in a busload of freethinkers, movers and storytellers to perform at the Loft in downtown Lansing. Co-founders Brandon Navin and Jeremy Hurt were line cooks at IHop when they discovered their mutual histories fronting bands and composing verses. In the first couple of runs at the Loft, the Umbrella served as an open mic geared toward lyrical readings but quickly grew into a fully loaded artist showcase.

“When we first started, one of the things I used to say was, ‘If you have an ant farm that you love, we want to see your ant farm,’” Navin said with a laugh. “We’ve moved past that now. It’s grown into this thing where we have a responsibility to our audience to vet talent.”

Leave it to Lansing creatives to see the value in putting a punk rock band and belly dancer on the same stage. Navin described the format as “kind of cabaret and vaudeville-esque.” A night under the Umbrella opens with an open mic at 6:30 p.m., followed by a scheduled lineup of creatives ranging from poets to belly dancers — the Habibi Dancers, specifically. The Habibi Dancers are one of the many returning acts among the monthly barrage of talent.

“We make people feel comfortable and we provide them with that safe space to share and they see that when they attend shows,” Hurt said. “Eventually they want to be a bigger part of that.”

Today (Dec. 18), Artist Umbrella listed Vincie D as its first featured band, along with speed painters, a professional hula hooper and fiction readings. Navin throws in his larger –than-life energy by introducing performers and conducting the audience in sing-a-longs. Hurt takes the lead on networking and keeps the lineup fresh. Past shows have featured out-of-towners such as rapper Vaughn Lambo and poet Kirei from Flint as well as drag champion Aaliyah Tealheart from Kalamazoo.

After a few successful shows, Navin approached Allison Spooner, an avid fiction writer, after she gave a reading at a poetry event that moved him to tears. Spooner, whose background is in public relations, serves as marketing director.

As a trio, the group promotes “transparency” and fostering a “safe space” at their shows, Navin said. He added that the goal of Artist Umbrella is to cultivate a supportive creative community, which to him looks like a family — group hugs included.

“We started kicking off the event doing some sort of rendition of ‘Umbrella’ by Rhianna, and we encourage people to hug and it works,” Navin said. After some initial resistance, people are coming around to the hugging.“I came up with the idea and people were like, ‘Yeah, that’s cool Brandon,’” he said. His factoids on hugs reducing blood pressure and cortisol, a stress hormone, are often lost on people. “But people are doing it. It’s about creating that energy in the room. This is not a competition.”

When asked what has been the most rewarding aspect of launching the showcase, he shared stories of audience members who left a show inspired to create.

“A local guy came to one of our shows and his girlfriend messaged me the next day and said that he had been suffering from mad depression and she usually has to drag him out of bed. When she woke up that morning at 5:30 a.m., he was sitting at the computer writing.”

Spooner said after attending one Artist Umbrella show, she was hooked by the hosts’ infectious energy and felt obligated to join the movement of outspoken creatives.

“Lansing can get a bad rap and you hear people say, ‘There is nothing to do here,’ and I was a part of that when I first started living here. But with Brandon’s loud mouth and Jeremy’s passion, it puts it out there. There is an underground network of artists here and we are trying to bring it out.”