Encore: Billings musicians and business owners band together to save Craft Local

BILLINGS — Craft Local’s “last call” is no longer, thanks to a group of musicians and business owners taking over the popular music venue.

Last month, owner Brad Welbes announced that the nonprofit venue, located at 2501 Montana Avenue, would close on Dec. 14 due to low attendance and rising costs. The closure came as a shock to many musicians and artists in town.

“It’s going to be really, really hard to see this go,” said musician Jack Klein after the announcement. “This is the place where people can come and not be great until they become great.”

Over the years, the venue has hosted a variety of acts, including young musicians who would use the space to practice with those more experienced and have the chance to blossom their music careers.

“This is the place where the threshold to get in the door and give it a try is super easy, and the crowd is super supportive all the time,” said Klein.

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Brian Zoller, a Billings musician who has played the venue many times over the years and a long-time friend of Welbes, was also shocked upon hearing the news of its closure but knew something needed to be done.

“I’ve been around Craft Local for quite a bit so I kind of got the news a little bit early, didn’t really understand why it was closing,” said Zoller. “You’ve got the brick walls, you’ve got the ceiling, you’ve got the great stage, I mean, this is like an artist’s dream.”

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He and several other musicians, business owners, and community members came together to save the venue from that very fate and give it an encore. A new board of directors has formed and will take over the operations to secure its future.

“I just want to get back out in the community. I mean, the whole thing about Craft Local, it was founded to help support, flourish the music and arts community in Billings,” said Zoller.

This happy turn of events came just a week before what was supposed to be the bittersweet final performance on Saturday from Klein’s swing band, JK and the Northern Lights. Instead, it turned into a celebration, as the room was full of over 200 people dancing along to the music, many of whom were glad to see it continue.

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“It was a pretty big shock when we found out that Craft Local was closing, but coming in tonight, knowing that that’s not the case, it’s pretty cool,” said Scott Jeppesen, MSU Billings associate professor of music and Northern Lights band member.

Zoller plans on keeping that energy going throughout the holiday season with open mics, karaoke nights, and a performance from his band, Big Sky Music Company, on Saturday, Dec. 21.

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“We’ve really figured out how to stay open at this point, and then a lot of this other stuff is just going to come together after the first of the year,” said Zoller.

One of the main goals of the new team is to maintain Craft Local’s original nonprofit mission. They will rely mainly on volunteers and none of the board members will make a paycheck. However, all of the bartenders will be keeping their jobs through the transition.

“We’ll just keep it a nonprofit. That’s what it is, and that’s what I think it works best anyways. You start just giving back to the music community and then the music community kind of gives back to you, and it’s a happy medium and everything works out well,” said Zoller.

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While the group is still figuring out the details, one change he is hoping to make is eliminating the cover charge for most gigs before 8 p.m.

“Being right next door to the Pub Station that doesn’t start shows till eight o’clock, those people that want to come in and have a beer before they’re on their way to the Pub Station, we’re not going to charge them to do that anymore,” said Zoller. “I don’t want to intimidate them at the door with the with a cover charge that’s unnecessary. If it’s necessary, we’re going to do it.”

While changes are inevitable, he still wants to bring in a variety of music acts and cater to different music tastes. They want to put more emphasis on their open mic nights and find a night that works best for it, a vital platform for aspiring musicians to build a fan base and develop their skills. According to Zoller, Craft Local is the only spot in Billings that has one.

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“That’s kind of where you build that fan base, or I guess in a sense, and it always kind of starts at open mic,” said Zoller. “To be the only one in town and only have three people show up just tells me it’s either not being advertised properly, it’s not being promoted properly, or it’s being promoted to the wrong people.”

The goal is to continue what Craft does best—providing a space for local musicians to thrive, while also fostering connections between different generations of music lovers.

“You want to be equal to like my generation and the older generation and the Jack Klein’s and the John Roberts and stuff like that, but at the same time, you want to get into the younger generation, otherwise there’s just no music, there’s no community. Somebody has to be a part of that and I think Craft Local can be that,” said Zoller.

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For now, the stage is set for many more performances, and Craft Local’s future looks brighter than ever.

“If you don’t have a crowd, you don’t have a venue,” said Jeppesen. “Come out, support the band, support the venue, and that’s the best way to keep it from ending up where it almost did.”