Image: Out There - outthereseries.com
Out There Series logo
Out There is an experimental music, poetry and performance art series that holds space for creative individuals in outdoor nature settings, effectively pairing an artistic ecosystem with the environmental ecosystem. The series is organized by Elise McArdle, John Larkin and Lucio Arellano. Their first show was on July 24 and featured Mere of Light, Tamper Tamper and Chelsea Tadeyeske performing in a space on the Milwaukee River known as Lovemom’s.
Out There
Out There
McArdle explains that the Out There series began as a way to curate intentional, authentic and elemental experiences. “We want to uplift local creatives who make interesting-sounding art and take them as well as audiences out of comfort zones with a spontaneous, nature-focused experience. We wanted to start with Lovemom’s because it’s had a long history in our music scene; they’ve been doing shows there for like 10 years. Being in proximity to the river is such a great part of living in Milwaukee—especially in the Riverwest area—so we wanted to celebrate that.”
McArdle says that the remaining shows on Out There’s schedule “are a little bit more structured; they’re partnerships with venues that we’ve told about our series and have invited us to come use their spaces. This way, we can cross-promote by exposing their programming to new audiences and create new relationships.
“In Milwaukee, bar culture overlaps with the music scene a lot; sometimes that’s a good thing but it’s not always a good thing. The communal experience of music deserves intentional, concentrated listening and that’s what we want this to be. When people come to it, they know that they’re going to see something really special and be drawn into the magic of the art. On the flipside, we want the performers to know that they’re going to be playing to an audience that is attentive and there to listen.”
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The idea for the series came from shared goals between McArdle and Larkin. “I’d been wanting to do something like this for a long time but wasn’t sure what it would look like,” McArdle recalls. “I was casually talking about it with John one day and he said that he’d be wanting to do the same thing; we joined forces and started working together.”
They hope to bring in artists from out of town as well as combine local acts that may not have performed together before. Arellano—who has a film degree—handles the video aspect by documenting the performances. Larkin, in charge of the sound configuration, says, “For the first show I hooked the generator up with an extension cord maybe 20 yards away and put a piece of wood to deflect sound the other way, which worked out great. You’ve got to make sure the generator is nice and quiet.”
There’s much to consider when selecting show locations. Larkin explains, “We think about where people are going to be watching the show from … how many people are performing … where the PA’s going to be set up … where the generator’s going … and what the backdrop is. We also have to account for wind so that the mics don’t get blown out. Lucio would know more about this for filming, but we also consider where the light’s coming from. There’s limitations to what we have since it’s a pretty simple setup—like, it’d be tough to have a drum set.”
Out There’s next show is 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18 at the Urban Ecology Center’s Menomonee Valley branch and will feature Roberto Harrison, Frenia, and Marielle Allschwang & the Visitations. “It’s a really cool location,” McArdle says. “I’ve been learning a lot about the history of that area; it’s got an industrial past but now there’s conservation efforts happening.”
Their Sept. 24 show, their first outside Milwaukee, will be in Ontario, Wisconsin in the Driftless Area and will feature Gauss, Little Trouble Girl and Julia Blair. “People can come and camp for that show,” McArdle said. “We’re really excited to highlight the geological aspect of the beautiful and unique Wisconsin nature.”
After that comes an Oct. 1 show at Washington Park with Social Caterpillar, Apollo Vermouth, and Sarah Clausen. Out There concludes the year with a ticketed show on Nov. 6 at Madison’s Olbrich Botanical Gardens with Caley Conway and Charles Edward Payne.
Out There is planned to become a yearly series that takes place in spring, summer and fall. Visit their website here.
