Lights Down, Grinders Off: Meadowlark Coffee’s Intimate Music Series | Video Feature

Meadowlark Coffee and Espresso has held hundreds of shows since it opened in 2005, regularly booking acoustic acts for a decade.

But in January, owner Adam Hintz and barista Will Hutchinson began elevating the shop’s staging of local and touring acts with “Songwriter Sundays” series. Each Sunday, the shop closes to the public, shuts down machinery, strings up a few strands of Christmas lights and becomes a bonafide all ages venue. Chairs are lined up in neat recital rows, and talking and phone use are kept to an intentional minimum.

Since a fundraising concert late last year to update Meadowlark’s sound equipment, about two dozen acts have performed. This includes locals, like Jack Hotel, Mesonjixx, La Musa Confusa and blét and touring acts, like The Tinder Box, Minor Birds and Father, Misty and the Big Rock.

Evan Bartels and California’s Joe Stevens will play a pair of folk sets this Sunday. RSVP here.

Get a feel for the series’ personality and goals in this video feature: