Seven Steps Up, the home of Pin Drop concerts, is now offering a 10 percent discount on tickets for Grand Valley State University students.

Seven Steps Up offers concerts in a small, 110-person seated venue located in Spring Lake, Mich., on Jackson Street.

The concerts, often acoustic, were first offered two years ago and have since gained popularity. The location regularly hosts three to six concerts a month.

However, don’t expect to go to a Pin Drop concert and scream and dance around. Before each concert, the owners of Seven Steps Up request that the audience is quiet and respectful of the performers and fellow audience members.

“The audience is quiet, very intense and into the music,” co-owner Gary Hanks said. “People are actually listening to the music. A lot of the artists say it’s the best concert they’ve ever played, because they’re playing for an audience that’s quiet and listening.”

GVSU professor and frequent concert-goer Sheryl Vliestra said the audience is encouraged to experience the music.

“That’s what makes this such a special experience,” Vliestra said. “It sounds like it might be confining or maybe even boring to have to be quiet during a song, but actually there is a lot of audience interaction with each other and with the artist in between every song.”

The concert etiquette may be different than normal, but Vlietstra said it makes for a better listening environment.

“This concert venue has made me appreciate music in a whole new way,” she said. “When you get to know the personalities of the singer-songwriters and you get to hear them in such close proximity, it’s a very cool experience.”

According to Hanks, the performers also enjoy the quieter concerts.

“It’s an experience you probably have never had in Michigan,” Hanks said. “We’re turning away five to 10 acts a week, the artists want to play here so badly. It’s not like anything you’ve ever experienced.”

The tickets range in price depending upon the performance but are generally around $20.

In order to bring in younger concert-goers, Seven Steps Up is offering two different promotions for GVSU students.

“If students purchase online in advance, they can get a 10 percent discount by entering GVSUSTD as the promo code,” co-owner Michelle Hanks said.

Students must present their IDs at the concert. Depending on ticket availability, students can also save if they buy tickets at the events.

“If students purchase tickets at the door, we will give them advance pricing,” Hanks said. “This could mean anywhere from $3 to $5 off per ticket at the door.”

The next concert is Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. featuring Seabird. For a full list of upcoming concerts and ticket prices, visit pindropconcerts.com.
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