The typical bar scene in Starkville tends to get rather dull after years of attending the same few bars Starkville has to offer. It has been a while since Starkville had a new bar in town to liven things up. However, actually, one bar that has been in Starkville for years is doing just that. The bar formerly known as Cheers will be presenting its third Ovation show this Saturday night.
The Ovation shows, brought to fruition by Matthew Ladner and Will Howard of GTR Productions, bring a very different atmosphere and experience to the usual Starkville bar scene. The first two Ovation shows in previous months have become major successes for Cheers and it hopes that trend will continue with Saturday’s performance. Ladner and Howard produce the Ovation shows, which came about because there was a lack of an up-scale bar scene in Starkville, unlike the Mississippi coast from where Ladner moved. GTR Productions has been involved in bringing these shows to venues throughout the southeast for years and have once again traveled back to Starkville.
“Ovation is just our way of bringing something fun back to our home town,” Matthew Ladner said. “When I moved here from the coast, there were no other events like this in the area. I had been friends with the guys over at GTR, I proposed with them this idea, and they have 200 percent into it already! The purpose of the Ovation shows is to introduce up-scale lounge culture to Starkville nightlife.”
With the virtual renovation of the inside of Cheers with white fabric and custom-built furniture, along with the sophisticated atmosphere it creates, an up-scale culture is surely what the patron will get.
“Danny Holland and the staff at Cheers have given us complete control of the bar for one Saturday out of every month,” Ladner said. “We cover the bar in white stage fabric and bring in all custom-built white furniture to transform the bar into an ultra-lounge. Then, we use state of the art L.E.D. lighting to change the color of the room and furniture.”
According to Ladner, though, the music is the main draw of the show. With locally famous DJ Brik-A-Brak, a.k.a. Austin Lee, headlining the music acts along with New Orleans-native Paul B and Tam from Jackson, MS, the show’s music guarantees to bring the big-city club sounds to tiny StarkVegas.
“I mainly play a mix of old-school funk, R&B, rock and modern-day hip-hop in a continuous blend that creates a distinct atmosphere,” DJ Brik-A-Brak said.
“The music is the most important part,” Ladner said. “We focus on the hottest underground music from house to hip-hop to EDM. We have brought in djs from all over the country, especially the south, to rock the crowd. We are very proud that Starkville’s very own DJ Brik-A-Brak will be headlining our main time slot. Paul B will be playing an eclectic mix of hip-hop and down tempo, and Tam will be playing break beat. For this event, we will also bring in a video DJ to mix live video to the music. The video will then be projected around the bar.”
Aside from the music, atmosphere and furniture that set the Ovation lounge apart from other bar scenes, the Ovation lounge also features artwork. This definitely bumps the Ovation lounge to up-scale status, especially in Starkville.
“We also feature local artists and their art work around the lounge,” Ladner said. “This event will feature paintings and photography from Josh Hailey, a recent MSU graduate.”
Danny Holland, the owner of Cheers, says that his enjoyment of upper-scale lounges too, prompted him to help bring the show to Cheers, which provides the patron with a very different perspective on Cheers.
“I enjoyed upper-scale lounges because it’s an amazing feeling when you’re in this type of atmosphere,” Holland said. “We always wanted to do a lounge show like this and when the idea was presented, we went for it. There have been two shows at Cheers before and the experience is absolutely not like any other. People will not be able to recognize Cheers. (Ovation) is the most innovative ultra-lounge experience I’ve ever seen and Matt and Will continue to improve it by leaps and bounds.”
“The show is really, really live,” DJ Brik-A-Brak said. “The mixture of music and atmosphere is phenomenal. You feel like you’re not in Cheers for a night; it’s a fantastic show. It’s an overall experience that contains all the elements, and I’ve never seen anything like it before. I urge everyone who hasn’t experienced it to go.”
The drinks at Ovation add to the cosmopolitan feel of the lounge with two-for-one martinis and $1.75 domestic longnecks. Holland and the people with GTR Productions are optimistic for Ovation, which hasgained popularity every time it is presented to
Starkville clientele.
“Will and I hope that this event will raise the bar for nightlife and events in Starkville,” Ladner said. “The production values of our shows rival that of any up-scale club in any big city in the south. We hope that this will be a nice introduction for our patrons into the world of lounge and electronic music.”
The Ovation show will start at 9 p.m. and run until 1 a.m. Cover charge will be $5 at the door. For any additional information, contact Matthew Ladner at (228) 326-2506, Will Howard at (662) 324-5446 or Cheers at (662) 324-2129.