ORANGE — While a co-op grocery store might not be the first place one would think to find live music, “Tiny Co-op Concerts” have been taking place at Quabbin Harvest Food Co-op in celebration of Co-op Month, held every October.
These concerts will continue on Fridays from 5 to 6 p.m. through Oct. 30 at the co-op, located at 12 North Main St. Cathy Stanton, chair of the Quabbin Harvest board of directors, said the concert series was the brainchild of Manager Kelly Surprenant, who was seeking to attract more potential shoppers and to let more people know about the co-op.
“She had heard about a small store somewhere that was doing light, Tiny Desk concerts, you know, [like] the NPR Tiny Desk concerts,” Stanton said. “She thought, ‘We’re a tiny co-op, why not try doing that here for the whole month of October to get the word out that we’re doing this fun thing and try to see if we can bring in some new folks?'”
According to Stanton, attendance has risen with each concert, ranging from a handful for the first concert on Oct. 2, to roughly 20 people on Oct. 16. Calling it a “good trajectory,” Stanton added that as a small co-op, and as the building is still open during the concerts, 20 people is just about how many can fit into the store.
“It started slow, but that was actually fine because we’re not a concert venue, we’re a grocery store,” Stanton said. “We had to kind of figure out what it means to do this in a way that doesn’t interrupt the shopping experience but also makes space for the concert. … We’re hoping that people will come. Even if they’re just dropping in to do some Friday night shopping, they get to listen to [the music] a little bit.”
The musicians are all local, much like the food that Quabbin Harvest sells. With performers from Wendell, Easthampton, Warwick and the greater Pioneer Valley, Stanton described the music as “ambient” and easy to listen to.
Coming up, on Oct. 23, western Massachusetts duo Phil Simon and Tony Sol LaRoche will perform rock ‘n’ roll, while on Oct. 30, Brother Sal will perform a mixture of blues, gospel and rock.
Other artists included folk singer and guitarist Care O’Leary, reggae musician Simon White and outlaw country covers from Josh LeVangie.
This is the first year that Quabbin Harvest has experimented with having musical guests grace the co-op, with Stanton saying the grocery store will evaluate the initiative following its conclusion.
“It is a fair amount of work to get a good lineup of folks [and] these are all local performers, so they’re close to home,” Stanton said. “We might well do it again. The question is, ‘Does it have the effect of actually bringing in new people?’ And I think we won’t know that until the end of the month.”
Stanton said she hopes the remaining concerts open the door for more people to understand the concept of the co-op, and recognize that a food co-op is not an exclusive club, like Costco or BJ’s Wholesale Club.
“I think all co-ops face the challenge of reaching beyond the people who already understand what a co-op is, [who] know that a co-op is not an exclusive buying club, that it’s just a grocery store that anyone is welcome to come to,” Stanton said. “We’re always looking for ways to get that out beyond … the faithful supporters.
“I’m really excited about this as a creative way to do that,” Stanton continued. “If people are vaguely aware of co-ops, this is a good way to become more than vaguely aware, to actually investigate and explore.”
Mentioning the several co-ops that Franklin County has, including Green Fields Market in Greenfield and McCusker’s Market in Shelburne Falls, Stanton said the county is a “very rich co-op area.”
“Orange is a little unusual as a co-op venue, and so we’re hoping this will reach out [to] that extra layer in our own North Quabbin area,” Stanton said.
For more information, visit quabbinharvest.coop. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
