Today we’d like to introduce you to Ethan Graves.
Hi Ethan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The Greene House’s story starts with Lynn and Mayner Greene. They purchased this property in 1985 and brought their passions to life here. A bed and breakfast, restaurant, farm, and Gretsch guitar gallery all had a home here under the “Greene House” name, shaping the backstory that made its existence today as a live music venue possible. We want to keep alive the rich history of music and community that has always been at the heart of this property. When I first proposed hosting concerts/events on the property, there was incredible work to be done. Aside from the buildings and larger trees, the concert/festival grounds are almost unrecognizable from when I first saw them. We unearthed our outdoor stage and dancefloor (an old concrete outbuilding foundation) from several inches of soil and trees/brush that had been reclaiming the land, completely remodeled our barn for indoor concerts and landscaped the back of the 5-acre property to accommodate traffic/crowds. We are constantly building, renovating, and making the Greene House a more unique and memorable experience. We’re about as DIY as you can get.
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Our biggest obstacle is our distance from larger population centers. We are located about 50 minutes from the heart of Milwaukee and Madison and a little less than 2 hours from downtown Chicago. This challenge is also one of our biggest strengths. Few places are as centrally located in 3 major cities as we are. We ensure that our events are well advertised and too good to miss. Although it can be challenging for some people to drive, we make it more than worthwhile by putting on large festival events – bringing in captivating performers from all over the US, food trucks, artist/merchant booths, and fun activities. We also offer camping at our larger events. Pulling all those pieces of a successful event together makes a 1-2 hour session manageable. We’ve had attendees travel from Nebraska to attend our shows. A major obstacle to the local music scene we want to address is the need for all-ages venues and venues that are willing to host local bands. There is only a place near us where we can regularly see good local music if we travel to a nearby large city. And those that do exist are generally 21+; The Greene House is an All Ages venue.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
3 people essentially run the Greene House. We all have input and work together on creatives/strategies, but we also have our specialized skills. Jayanne creates all our art for flyers/shirts/advertisements and prints our designs. Lynn is our silent partner offering sage advice as the property owner, former business owner, and pillar of the La Grange community. I run sound/lights at most of our events and handle a large share of the talent acquisition and grounds maintenance with help from Jayanne. When we put together our inaugural event, “Strange LaGrange 2022,” we didn’t know what to expect. We put together a bill of our “best friend” bands from all over Wisconsin with 1 out-of-state act.
We got a last-minute food truck and had several amazing art vendors come out. La Grange is French for ‘barn,’ so it was a very fitting name for a bunch of punks in a barn! We saw just over 100 attendees throughout that day. Just 1 year later, we put on 5 shows – 3 larger self-arranged festival events and a couple of tours passing through the area. “Strange LaGrange 2023” was our most ambitious and successful event to date – Less than a year after our first show, we had a 13-band bill with acts from 6 different states across the midwest/central US, innovative light shows, art installations, food trucks, and tons of unique art vendors. More than 300 people turned out for that day, and we have heard nothing but rave reviews from anyone in attendance. Aside from providing a platform for these performers to be seen, I think bringing these bands together is our most important thing. Nothing is more satisfying than seeing my favorite local/regional artists develop a working relationship after meeting at The Greene House. The word is out now. We are constantly receiving booking requests and plan on continuing to grow and book more frequent and larger shows as we develop our presence. We can’t wait to show the world what the Greene House has in store for 2024!
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
We all grew up with a deep passion for live and local music. We are all devoted music fans; it’s in our blood. I’ve played in several bands in the Wisconsin music scene. Jayanne has been involved with local music, creating art, and printing merchandise for many groups. And, of course, Lynn and Mayner grew the Greene House, initially selling rare guitars to famous musicians, giving music lessons out of the house, and bringing people together on the property.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.greenehouselive.com
- Instagram: @greene.house.live
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/greene.house.live
Image Credits
Bobbie Knopp, Tony Mueller, Ethan Graves
