On a clear Sunday evening in mid-July, something unusual occurred: Last-minute concertgoers couldn't immediately slip through the bold red doors of Lafayette Theater.
Instead, they had to drag themselves to the back of a line that stretched to Lafayette Brewing Company on Main Street. Down the other side of the block and parked on Ferry Street were buses, sleek black behemoths that gleamed with all the import of a national act. This time, they belonged to rising singer-songwriter Jason Isbell's tour.
Those who congregated in the snaked line created a buzz in which friends caught up and strangers connected over mutual admiration of the Nashville-based star. One woman wore her drive from Louisville, Kentucky, like a badge of honor. Others laughed and chattered, mostly oblivious to the wait as they inched toward the doors, the line contracting as some crossed the threshold and then expanding as more joined the end.
In late January, Nate Pientok and Jordan Flack, co-owners of Main Street Live LLC, took over management at the theater. Since then, large national acts have turned from trickle to stream in Lafayette. Electronic dance music artist Paper Diamond in March. Electronic-rock fusion band Papadosio and country singer Granger Smith in April. Country star Joe Nichols in July. Renaissance rocker Todd Rundgren, songwriter and Staind frontman Aaron Lewis, and funk outfit Here Come the Mummies in August.
Ticket sales for the acts have been mostly consistent. Lewis sold out days before the show. And only Rundgren failed to break even once total event sales were factored in, Pientok said.
Pientok and Flack are driving forward against a nagging narrative that has plagued Greater Lafayette, one that often has sidelined the music scene in comparison to other comparable communities and frustrated those who care about it most. The reasoning has been repeated so frequently that it now grates against a raw spot for many residents. This town will always have an underdeveloped musical identity, some say, because it's dominated by engineers, lacks a university music school and can't capture the edgy Bloomington vibe.
"I've said it a million times, but music is a human thing," Pientok said. "It's not (an) 'Oh, because I go to Indiana University' thing or 'because I'm an art major in college.' Like, no. Everybody loves music."
In terms of perception and the frequency of national tour buses, the area has lumbered behind similarly sized markets even as it has popped forth with impressive spates of talented national and local acts through the years. While Purdue Convocations, the Student Concert Committee and Friends of Bob have long brought in desirable stars, the town has lacked a consistently successful, independent keystone venue that other cities have enjoyed for decades.
The interest and need for this type of venue are present, Pientok and Flack say. And with elbow grease, industry research, experience and some luck, they believe they can launch and keep in motion a nationally recognized room that helps anchor a re-emerging downtown.