Lawrence Music Census extends community input deadline to end of March

The Roseline at the Bottleneck. // photo by Nick Spacek

For those Kansas City musicians who frequently make their way down the road to Lawrence, it may behoove you to take part in the Lawrence Music Census.

The Lawrence Music Alliance, the City of Lawrence, eXplore Lawrence, and several local partners got together with Sound Music Cities to administer this survey, with the goal being: “To gain a better understanding of the current music needs of the Lawrence, Kansas community.”

While you might not live in the city or its surrounding communities, if you’re attending shows, performing, or otherwise participating in the music community of the city, your voice needs to be heard. As the Lawrence Music Alliance explained at a recent meetup last Wednesday, there’s a lot of anecdotal stories regarding what the music scene means to the Lawrence economy. But hard data will allow the city to better allocate funds to support music as part of the arts in Lawrence.

Still on the fence as to whether or not you should take 15 minutes out of your day? Fally Afani—Lawrence Music Alliance board member and founder of I Heart Local Music—explains it like this: “You don’t have to be a musician to take part,” she says. “You just have to be involved in some way in the local music ecosystem. If you make merch, work security at a venue, pour drinks at a bar that books bands regularly, or even if you just busk on the weekends, you should take this survey. Even if you don’t make any money from your music, you should take this survey. If you give piano lessons on the side, you should take this survey.”

The deadline’s been extended to the end of March, so you until Sunday to get it filled out, and make your voice heard right here.