Bentonville’s Newest Live Music Venue
Photo by Stephen Ironside of Ironside Photography.
Originally published in Crystal Bridges and the Momentary’s Annual Member Magazine in 2021.
It’s been said that music bonds people together, and after more than a year of attending virtual concerts and productions apart from one another, we were collectively reminded of how remarkable it is to experience live performance communally.
Whether it be the thrill of jumping up and down or head-bobbing to a great tune or having a moment of introspection in a crowd, it’s these shared experiences that build a sense of community.
As an institution that focuses on and responds to the art of today, the Momentary set a goal to bring live music back safely. Because if we’re honest, the art we’re craving today is the art of gathering.
“We are serious about making the Momentary a ‘living room for the community,’ and music is the key that unlocks that door,” said Olivia Walton, executive board chair of the Momentary and board chair of Crystal Bridges. “Done right, music can be more accessible, bring together all sides of the political spectrum, and simply be less intimidating than a traditional ‘museum space.’”
As a result of this initiative, the Momentary programmed two major music series this summer—Live on the Green Concert Series and Courtyard Sessions—and (finally) hosted the inaugural FreshGrass | Bentonville festival this fall, celebrating today’s bluegrass and roots music.
The Sounds of Summer
As the summer air floated into Bentonville, the lights came up over the Canopy on the Momentary Green and we ushered in a new chapter, welcoming over 97 musicians in total.
Each Friday evening, crowds rolled in for Live on the Green, our family-friendly outdoor concert series, setting up picnic blankets and lawn chairs and enjoying beverages from the nearby RØDE Bar and kebabs from the Momentary Food Truck. Watching the day fade into night, we jammed to the sounds of artists across genres, such as The Accidentals, Willi Carlisle, and Rochelle Bradshaw & Hypnotion, to name a few.
Music-lovers didn’t have to wait long for another live-music high. In our Courtyard Sessions series, in partnership with CACHE, crowds were welcomed back every Sunday afternoon. Community members sand and danced along to the beat of the best upcoming artists in Northwest Arkansas such as DJ Raquel, Ley Lines, Mildenhall, and others.
Returning to Our Roots
In early October, FreshGrass | Bentonville made its debut at the Momentary and was the highlight of a live music-filled year. The two-day family-friendly festival brought in today’s best bluegrass and roots artists such as Billy Strings, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Steep Canyon Rangers, Leyla McCalla, Flor de Toloache, and many more. Music fans from near and far braved the rain-spotted weekend and enjoyed incredible performances from different groups across the Momentary campus. Saturday afternoon, the sun came out making the weather just right, and we danced the night away amid a full Momentary Green. IT felt good to gather again, and it made us hopeful knowing that this is only the beginning of many phenomenal experiences at the Momentary.
FreshGrass has been held at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts every year since 2011 and attended by thousands of people. FreshGrass | Bentonville is the newest addition to the organization and is intended to become a reoccurring music festival that not only presents great bluegrass music on local, regional, and national levels, but also creates spaces to have meaningful, shared experiences.
Argeo Ascani Joins the Momentary
In August, the Momentary welcomed Argeo Ascani as its new programmer of music and festivals. Ascani joined the Momentary from Troy, New York, where they worked as a curator at EMPAC—the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Ascani has worked with a range of artists, including electronic music pioneers Kode9 and Oneohtrix Point Never, and mastermind musicians Anne Akiko Meyers and Tyshawn Sorey.
Ascani envisions the Momentary growing into a place where people gather to have thought-provoking, perspective-enhancing encounters with live performance, they said.
“That could take many forms, whether it is hearing a band you’ve been following online for the first time live, being awed by a virtuoso pianist, experiencing a rich and complex composition, or feeling the music rush over you with the stars overhead,” Ascani said.
Whatever the next year brings, we’ll be sure not to miss a beat with live music on the schedule.
