Pandemic aside, downtown Kent is a fun place, but it wasn’t always that way. Folks who graduated 20 years ago come back and rub their eyes in wonder. It’s not the Kent they remember, and Tom Simpson is a big reason why.
Back then the old Kent theater — now the Kent Stage — had seen much better days since it opened in 1927. A brand-new multiplex was opening up a few miles down the road and the theater was showing dollar movies… if it opened at all.
In 2002, Tom Simpson came along and he had an idea. As he says, “That Beatles song, “The Fool on the Hill?” That reminded me of me.”
Simpson envisioned a concert hall, and he had the experience to back up his dream.
When he was a student down the street at Kent State University, he booked shows as part of the All Campus Programming Board. The day after he graduated, he went to work for Belkin Productions. He moved on to United Production Services out of Los Angeles and helped book stadium concerts nationwide. When he made his way back to Northeast Ohio, opportunities popped up. But still, the old theater was in bad shape, Simpson’s experience aside.
New Life
Charlie Bowman, the community development director in Kent, wanted to bring people downtown. He set up a meeting with Simpson, other key community members, and the people who were running the theater. They wanted out so they could concentrate on their movie theater at University Plaza across town.
As Simpson recalls, “They looked at the Kent theater “like the Titanic… 99% underwater.” Simpson took it over, renamed it the Kent Stage, and gave it a quick facelift.
“The place was a dump. The dressing room area was such a mess that it looked like the floors were black, but they were really red,” he says. After a lot of elbow grease, it was time to put “meat in the seats.” You do that with great acts, and Simpson knew how to get them.
Familiar Acts
At first, it was folk acts, and as Simpson remembers it, “That didn’t even last a year before we started bringing in some blues. The first band that wasn’t blues or folk was Little Feat. Huge crowd; we built on that foundation.”
Glen Campbell. Stephen Stills. Brandi Carlile. Kris Kristofferson. Richie Havens. The Main Street marquee boasted a who’s who of music’s most iconic performers.
“Graham Nash was playing nearby and he stopped in to visit with the Zombies. Joan Baez played our first anniversary show, and Leon Redbone was eccentric but fun,” Simpson says.
“Former Beatle Pete Best played there on a Halloween night, saw the crowds of kids outside and said it was wilder than his days playing the Reeperbahn (festival in Germany).”
Simpson recalled the time Leon Russell told the crowd at his show, “This is where I‘m supposed to walk off stage and look surprised that you’re calling me back. Look, I’ll play three more songs, give me 20 minutes, and I’ll be sitting out back by my bus.” Sure enough, Russell was there signing every autograph. Sadly, it was the second last show for Peter and Gordon. They started singing different lyrics for their song “Lady Godiva,” and Simpson had to print the lyrics for them on his computer. Gordon Waller died a short time later.
Simpson keeps bringing in acts that belie the small venue in a small town. He and his crew cater not only to the needs of people 50+ but also to the artists from that same generation.
Matinees are not unheard of and many of the performers are aware of how they and their audiences have changed over the years. Simpson says Spencer Davis joked, “Here’s another one that sounds just like the record,” acknowledging that the act’s former lead singer, Steve Winwood, had a voice that no one could match. He delivered a great show to an appreciative audience, nonetheless.
Simpson has not only been good at attracting talented performers to Kent, but he might also be seen as a visionary. When he was asked last year what he saw as the biggest challenge for his business, he warned about the dangers of a virus he was hearing about in China. That was months before the coronavirus hit the United States.
The virus has dealt a significant blow to the Kent Stage. Performers have postponed appearances to later this year or until people feel safe attending such events. Like the building itself, Simpson has weathered tough times before. What happens in the months or year to come is unknown. Regardless, Simpson and the Kent Stage will be waiting for the performers and the area’s music-loving audiences to return.
Mike Olszewski is the magazine’s pop culture columnist and the co-author of several books about Cleveland’s entertainment scene.
