Trend: Dallas-Fort Worth bands play unplugged sets in museums

by Jessica Harp

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Would you enjoy seeing a band in an art gallery?

Venues like Trees in Deep Ellum, Dan’s Silverleaf in Denton, and Lola’s in Fort Worth have been usual haunts for musicians in Dallas-Fort Worth. The music is (sometimes) loud, the booze is flowing, and the lights are down low.

See video of the concert here

Seryn at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

But lately, a few local bands have been performing at museums instead. The Dallas Museum of Art and The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth have each served as venues for Seryn, Doug Burr, The Cush and Novaak in the past few months.

“Bands play in clubs and bars all the time,” says Lance Yocom, owner of Spune, a record label that also dabbles in artist development and promotion. “We wanted to offer bands a unique setting outside of the typical smoky bar where clanking beer bottles and social chatter often interrupts the show. In the auditorium at The Modern, it's all about the music.”

The concerts at both museums have been hits. A performance by The Books even sold out in advance, and Spune plans to work with The Modern on more shows in the near future.

But what does it take for a band to be considered fit to play a museum? According to Yocom, bands need a particular format for the quieter setting, as Seryn demonstrates in this video. A museum isn't a good fit for loud bands.

“It's a true chamber room setting, so anything loud does not make sense,” Yocom says. “It takes a band who really knows how to perform to the room. Often we encourage the band to perform completely acoustic with nothing plugged in at all.”

What's more, both museums serve beer, wine, and food during the performances.