Partner Programs

Sit Down and Shut Up is a brainchild of local musician, Evan Webb, in collaboration with Scout Hall.

We’ll let Evan describe his inspiration for the project:

“ In 2018, I held the first iteration of Sit Down and Shut Up by renting out a room at a local restaurant, inviting a few friends to play songs they had written, and hoping that people would show up with money in hand. More so than wanting to create a revenue driving enterprise, I only wanted to give songwriters a space to be heard. In retrospect, it was a real Field of Dreams approach. Before we get too far; songwriter rounds and songwriting focused events are not new. Sit Down and Shut Up is not breaking the mold, only baking up a sometimes hard to find favorite. That is how this all started. 

  As someone who has spent hours - years mulling words for a song around in their brain only to have them lost in a crowded bar room, on the empty plates of restaurants, or to the endless chatter of a winery patio, etc...it felt that the effort itself, was at times for nothing. I yearned for an environment in which the crowd had arrived, taken their seats, and tuned in with intent. I did not want this only for myself and my songs. The dream was to provide artists and even patrons a safe haven from suffering through meaningless/noisy shows where the experiences of a songwriter are deafened. So why not just come out and say it? Why not just set the tone for an event so that the artist and the crowd know what they came for? The people on stage pouring out their hearts and the table next to you (that paid fair money to see a good show) want you to SIT DOWN and SHUT UP!  How else are you going to HEAR the artist's intent and connect with their outlook? 

  Songs and the words held within them are an amalgamation. No matter how simple a song may seem or how little an artist may unveil, know that it is a complex mixture of physical environment, social status,and life experiences. The list of affecting influences really could go on indefinitely. It should be hard for us to imagine that two people have experienced exactly the same combination of loss, happiness, heartbreak, love, success, or injustice. Furthermore, it should be hard for us to imagine that those combinations are expressed as similar works or creations. This is where we can learn from those who create as they willingly offer us a glimpse into a plethora of differing possibilities. They are simply telling a version of their story! Isn't it time we sit down, shut up and listen?” 

-Evan Webb

Made possible by a generous grant from:

Thanks to a generous donation from Missouri Humanities, the Arts Council and Scout Hall will explore the relationship between creativity, consciousness, and community by exploring the ways in which music diplomacy fosters an appreciation for the diversity of the human experience. The discussion will have an informally moderated discussion, and will encourage conversation between musicians, while also allowing each participant to wax philosophic on their own creative process, especially through the lens of living in a "flyover zone" between St. Louis and Memphis.  Particular attention will be paid to lines of inquiry regarding the relationship between critical thought and placemaking, and the unique role that the humanities play in fostering sustainable communities.

The goal of this project is to highlight perspectives regarding the role of the individual in their community, and the role of the community in the development of culture. In creating a program like this at an emerging cultural center, whose mission it is to tell the stories of 'flyoverachievers', our aim is to model the power of the individual voice and perspective as a necessary component of active citizenship. This enhances Missouri Humanities goals of fostering new conversations and modes of critical inquiry about who we are and the way we design our society, specifically through the lens of the rural Midwest. Dispelling the myth that culture is relegated to major cities is at the heart of all of the work. 

We will discuss the rich history of the region, the oral traditions, the mythologies that accompany the history and ecology, the political and religious ideologies that contribute to decision-making processes, the role of local government and local ordinances in shaping culture, how architecture and city planning reflect the ethos of decision-makers, the impact of non-native Missourians on local culture, and the role of creativity in sustainable community building. This will include informal moderation and interspersed performances with a curated dining experience.