716: Fine Art

Kenosha, WI 3/5/06 – 716, a local fine art gallery run by Kenosha natives, has made the decision to become a nonprofit organization and is broadening its programming to include a monthly acoustic concert series featuring local musicians.

Tickets for seats at the acoustic concert sell for $8 each. Tables, which seat four and include a complementary glass of wine for each guest, are available for $30. Additional refreshments will be available at the event.

The first concert in the series, featuring local troubadour John Hardin, debuts on Saturday, March 10 at 7:30. Hardin volunteered to donate his time for the event to help the gallery generate funds in order to stay open.

“We’re really glad that John agreed to play this concert,” said David Geisler, the gallery’s director. “He’s a regular at the open mic here, and everyone really loves his sound. So asking him to play at the concert was only natural. But when he volunteered to do it, I was just floored. It really helps.”

716 also hosts an “open mic” every Wednesday at 9pm, in which anyone can share a poem, story, song or monologue – although many come to simply watch and listen.
“716 is such a great venue for an open mic,” Hardin said. “Most open mics you go to in Kenosha, they’re at bars, and they’re mostly all music. But here, about half the performers are musicians and half are poets. So it has a very bohemian feel, and everyone is respectful of the artists.”

Hardin, who studied music at a nearby conservatory, has developed a sound that resonates with his main influences both musical and literary. Like many musicians, he counts Bob Dylan and John Lennon as major forces in his music, as well as Jeff Buckley and Nina Simone. But he also has an ear for classic literary masters T.S. eliot, W.B. Yeats, Lord Byron, and e.e. cummings.

The art gallery has scheduled five more musicians from various backgrounds to play in their Acoustic Concert Series, and plans to have a new artist every month. In the past, they have invited a four-piece jazz band to play during the art exhibitions they have hosted.

“We want to bring in a range of music that people will enjoy in an acoustic performance,” Geisler said. “It’s a very intimate space, and the ambience here is perfect for these concerts – whether we’re featuring jazz, blues, folk, rock or even classical music on any given month.”

Contact: David Geisler, Director
716 58th Street, Kenosha WI 53140
262.654.0716
716fineart@mac.com
www.716fineart.org

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