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Pyramid Scheme to have soft opening tonight and surprise concert tomorrow

Grand Rapids most anticipated new venue will be open for a soft launch tonight and will host a test-run concert tomorrow evening before official grand opening on Friday
The Pyramid Scheme's in-progress exterior facade

The Pyramid Scheme's in-progress exterior facade /Jeff VandenBerg

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Grand Rapids music fans, wait no longer. In a surprise twist, the much anticipated Pyramid Scheme - the city's newest music venue - will be open for a soft launch tonight and will host a test-run concert tomorrow evening. The venue, located at 68 Commerce SW, is due to have its grand opening this Friday with the first of a two-night stretch of performances by the newly-reunited indie rock luminaries Guided by Voices.

“We got final approval today to open,” explained Nicole Leach, the Pyramid Scheme’s Venue Manager, “...but we’ve had it planned for about a month. We just weren’t sure that we were going to able to do it.”

The two confirmed acts for tomorrow evening’s performance are Charles the Osprey and Chance Jones, two bands signed to venue co-owner Jeff VandenBerg’s longstanding local record label Friction Records.

“It’s a way for us to make sure everything is running right,” Leach said, “we want the sound to be great for this weekend so we wanted to have two bands with very different styles come in and make sure that everything is sounding good for the weekend.”

The Pyramid Scheme will be open for business tonight at 7pm until 2am and tomorrow night’s surprise peformance will begin at 9pm. The concert, like most at the venue, is 21+ and has a $5.00 cover. To RSVP for tomorrow's performance (not required), check out the event listing on Facebook.

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Comments

We are fortunate to have such a great music scene in GR. Bands have already been incredibly supportive of the venue. A huge special thanks to Charles The Osprey and Chance Jones for playing the very first show. It is going to be a riot! A big thank you also to Jeff, Tami, Mark, April, Dan and the rest of the great crew that are participating in the launch of The Pyramid Scheme!

HA! Much love for tags.

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