When the campus church the Revolution was looking for a permanent location for an office, organizers didn't know they would end up reopening The Living Room, an all-ages music venue in downtown Muncie.
Sponsored by the Church of God in Anderson, The Living Room was once a big part of the Muncie music scene and was one of the largest all-age venues in the area. Financial hardship caught up with The Living Room and it closed its doors in April.
Nick Hewitt, a junior at Ball State University and manager of The Living Room, has been busy preparing for the first show scheduled for Sunday.
"Because we're a campus church, we've never had a permanent location in the past," Hewitt said. "We had been renting out a small place on Jackson Street, but we found out that the rent for our office there was the same as the rent for The Living Room."
Hewitt said this gave the church a unique situation. They could have their office and also reopen The Living Room without having to worry about turning a profit.
Carl Frost, a staff member with the campus church and Ball State alumnus, has been helping Hewitt reopen the venue.
"Our goal here is not to make money," Frost said. "Any of the extra money we make is given back to the artists who perform, or used to improve the building."
The Living Room will have live music shows once a month. Admission is $2 per person. Sunday's show is from 6 to 9 p.m. and will feature TJ Fields, Save Our Syndicate, Joel Levi, Cliff Richey, 8 Stories High and Ben Clark.
"Anything goes with the style of music we're playing," Hewitt said. "This week we've got a mix of acoustic and rock."
While The Living Room is sponsored by the Revolution, a church, the music is not religious in nature, Frost said.
"We just ask to keep it PG-13," Frost said.
Located on 130 W. Jackson St., across from Doc's Music Hall and next to the MITS station, The Living Room is on the second floor of an old building. The venue consists of two rooms, the "Green Room" and the "Living Room." The Green Room was where bands would hang out before or after their set, and needed quite a lot of repair, Frost said.
"You could move one of the walls by poking it, so we had to do some work on it," he said.
The room has since been converted into an office space for The Revolution, but will still be used by the bands between sets.
The Living Room gets its name from the comfortable atmosphere it presents. The concert hall has a hardwood floor with cozy chairs and tables in the style of a coffee shop, but that doesn't mean it's a purely sit down establishment, Frost said.
"This floor is definitely safe to dance on," he said.
It has a view of downtown Muncie through a set of giant windows. The drab orange walls were a concern to Hewitt and Frost though, who felt that artwork or a different color would help the atmosphere.
Music is not the only thing that The Living Room is going to be used for - weddings and the Muncie ArtWalk are among other things that could be potential future uses of the building.
"We might rent out the space when we're not using it, which is why we can't have this place looking too over the top," Hewitt said.
After The Living Room and Doc's location in the Village closed, Muncie's music scene slowed down, Frost said. Even though it's right across the street from Doc's Music Hall, both venues have different audiences and play on different nights.
"We're not in a competition at all, we're just really excited to bring The Living Room back to life," he said.
What: The Living Room reopening show featuring TJ Fields, Save Our Syndicate, Joel Levi, Cliff Richey, 8 Stories High and Ben Clark
Where: 130 W. Jackson St.
When: 6-9 p.m. Sunday
Admission: $2 per person
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