How Elsewhere Fest & Conference Is Building Community Through Music

With an eclectic lineup featuring Killer Mike, Steve Aoki, Snow Tha Product, BADBADNOTGOOD and more, you might think you’re not in Kansas anymore with the inaugural Elsewhere Fest and Conference. Set for June 21-22, the not-for-profit event aims to show what’s possible in Wichita while building community and providing opportunities for musicians and music workers in the Midwest.

Elsewhere was created and produced by Wichita-based artist and music-worker collective Midtopia. At the helm of the festival are husband and wife team Adam and Jessie Hartke, who are on the board of the non-profit and serve as co-owner and partners of Hartke Presents as well as local music venues WAVE and The Cotillion. They are also co-founders of D Tour and serve as co-directors of MEADOW (Music Ecosystems and Artist Development Operation of Wichita).

“In so many markets, not just ours, we are sort of force-fed musical Velveeta — this standard idea of this will sell tickets or this is what will theoretically create the most revenue, so this is what we should be ingesting. And people’s palettes are much more diverse than just wanting Velveeta all the time,” Jessie Hartke, Midtopia’s CEO and Director, says. 

Adam Hartke adds, “We’re really focused on the curation of a festival that truly represents different elements of communities within the region and then also trying to build a lineup that spurs thought and innovation and gives a different perspective to what it means to go to a show.”

The performances, which also include Wichita-based artists such as Rudy Love & The Encore, will take place at multiple independent venues including WAVE, Norton’s Brewing Company, Barleycorn’s and Naftzger Park.

In addition to headlining the festival, Killer Mike will take part in a one-on-one discussion with Rudy Love Jr. about the importance of freedom of expression.

“Our hope is to not only bring an amazing festival to our hometown but to also showcase that Wichita music is unique and should be part of larger conversations,” says Love Jr., who is also a member of Midtopia’s Board of Directors. “Our small music community is magical, and we understand how essential it is to provide opportunities like this to build something even better.”

The conference portion of the event, which will be held at Norton’s Brewing Company and Greater Wichita Partnership, will also feature speakers from City Winery, Stand Together, No Depression, Union Stage, Music Managers Forum and Marauder with topics such as “There’s No Place Like Home to Start your Music Career” and “Finding your Own Path in the Industry.”

Attendees will have the chance to take part in one-on-one speed meetings where they are matched with other members of the music community.

Adam Hartke explains that one of the primary goals of the conference is “to have real discussions on forward-looking ideas … and to ask really tough questions [about] the issues that are plaguing the industry.”

Jessie Hartke adds, “I am very excited that we can offer these opportunities for artists and music workers to expand their knowledge base. And that’s the goal of the conference – how can we share knowledge … and allow these independent artists that live in our community or in the music community, wherever they might be, to just garner as much information as they can find to create a successful pathway for themselves?”

Though the couple has long worked together on many events, Jessie Hartke notes that Elsewhere is the first fest “we’ve been able to be creative in the way that we’ve always envisioned and not been [held back] by financial expectations.”

She adds, “Since the moment Adam and I met, pretty much within two weeks, we were promoting shows together and at the core of every element of what we’ve done in the last 15 years is how can we build community through music? Something that has always been very dear to my heart is that in the society we live in there’s not a lot of areas for people to come together across economic spectrums and find a shared humanity.”

As a way to ensure the event is accessible for everyone, Elsewhere is featuring a free stage at Naftzger Park and keeping ticket prices low, with single-day passes starting at $59.

To further support the community, Elsewhere is working with nonprofit organizations bringing about social change including a pop-up dinner with HomeGrown that will go toward Wichita youth program School Halls Not Prison Walls.