Rock the Vote in downtown Lawrence this Sunday
Rock the Vote takes place at the Granada and Lucia on Sunday, July 5, and is sponsored by The Granada, Lucia, Love Garden Sounds, Mass St Fish House & Raw Bar, Mass Street Music, Cottin’s Hardware & Rental, Tom Harper, 1313 Mockingbird Lane, League of Women Voters, and Women for Kansas. The full lineup and set times can be found here.
On Sunday, July 5, you can end your holiday weekend with a massive free show in downtown Lawrence. While there has been a cavalcade of free music in town this summer thanks to World Cup-adjacent events, the Rock the Vote concert taking place at the Granada and its next-door sister venue, Lucia, aims to celebrate something else: making a difference.
Organized by Dan Cook, vocalist and bassist for hard-pop act the Scriveners, the Rock the Vote show came about when he was looking to book shows for the year. As he often does when planning things, Cook looked at what else was going on in town or in the world or what matches up seasonally, and it dawned on him 2026 would be the midterm elections.
“I was like, ‘Boy, I wish there was something I could do that would make a difference during the midterms,’” thought Cook, who describes himself as a big fan of registering, voting, and doing one’s civic duty. “So yeah, I thought, ‘Eh, we can throw together a voter registration concert.’”
The original plan was for the concert to take place in the fall at the Lawrence Public Library, but as Cook spoke with folks around town, it became clear he needed to speak with the League of Women Voters, as well as Women for Kansas. It was the latter organization’s Kelly Wall, the chapter leader for Lawrence, who asked Cook if he’d consider doing it in the summer instead.
“I did not realize these primaries were that important,” admits the organizer. “So, thankfully League of Women Voters will be set up, ready to answer all questions, ’cause I don’t consider myself an authority on that sort of thing.”
The date of the concert coming during the celebration of the United States’ semiquincentennial gives Rock the Vote a patriotic sheen, but the importance of the date is tied to the fact that, in order to vote in the Kansas primaries on Tuesday, August 4, you need to be registered by Tuesday, July 14.
Given the fact that the show is in early July, the original vision of a show on the library lawn became untenable due to the heat, but then Mike Logan, owner of the Granada and Lucia, stepped up to offer the location and people to run sound for the event.
When it came down to who would play this show, Cook first looked at two bands, MAW and Tick Check, whose songs “A for Action” and “Participate,” respectively, immediately made them foremost in his mind as acts which would be interested.
From there, the rest of the lineup came about, resulting in what’s essentially the best Sunday matinee one could ever hope to attend, with Captain Kansas, East of Abilene, The Frightened Stag, Futchdog, Hyperspherian, Mire Pral, Party Helmet, The Shebangs, Slaughtermouse, 95 Sweetbird, Third Kansas Cavalry Unit, TUN, Wayne Gottstine, and Cook’s own The Scriveners all on the bill, making for a diverse range of Americana, folk, rock, indie, punk, and experimental music to suit any taste.
The event is very specifically a non-partisan voter registration drive. The League of Women Voters and Women of Kansas will be on hand to assist in getting folks to check and see if their registration information is correct–an important thing in a town where renters move on a nearly annual basis–and getting them registered if they aren’t.
That said, if you’re even tangentially familiar with the lineup, one can make a reasonable assumption as to where they fall on the political spectrum and their opinions on the upcoming Supreme Court nomination amendment which is part of the August 4 Kansas primaries. That amendment looks to change the vote for Kansas Supreme Court justices to a direct vote, and abolish the current nominating committee.
“Democracy has never been perfect, and it’s always been fragile,” says Victoria Brooks of Party Helmet as to why she’s playing on July 5. “Rich and powerful people spend millions of dollars each election cycle putting their thumbs on the scale, and you know what? They wouldn’t waste all that money if they weren’t getting something out of it. Which means our votes matter. Kansas may not be a swing state, but the results of local elections affect our lives in profound and lasting ways.”
She concludes, “Get registered, get informed, get ready for the fight. We haven’t lost it yet.”
As Cook notes, he and the Scriveners are excited to do something that might make a little bit of a difference.
“None of us are naïve enough to think that we’re really going to make the change but all the little steps matter,” says Cook. “Kinda like every vote matters.”
Rock the Vote takes place at the Granada and Lucia on Sunday, July 5, and is sponsored by The Granada, Lucia, Love Garden Sounds, Mass St Fish House & Raw Bar, Mass Street Music, Cottin’s Hardware & Rental, Tom Harper, 1313 Mockingbird Lane, League of Women Voters, and Women for Kansas. The full lineup and set times can be found here.
