LemonDrop of Springfield wants to develop and promote budding local artists.

After moving from Commercial Street to Boonville Avenue last year, the nonprofit venue has begun to evolve into something much greater.

“So, at first, we were just a venue…” Executive Director Kevin Ehlers noted in an interview with The Scoop: SpringVegas.

Now, the vision for LemonDrop includes an expansion of services, not only for members, but for the community as well.

Besides LemonDrop being a venue for artists to exhibit their work and performances, Ehlers plans to expand the venue into a multimedia studio for artists. He also plans to incorporate new types of events to the schedule, such as trivia nights.

“So the combination is venue, all ages, events, concert series — all that kind of stuff. In between acts, we encourage people to come into this gallery… and we’ll have works of art… [that were] created in-house.”

Ehlers has big plans for musicians as well: “One big thing we’re trying to do is, we’ve got a professional video guy, and he comes to every open mic … so when you come and play, if you liked your performance … you would get an edited video of you playing that’s HD, and then a recording so you could take that MP3 and put it on SoundCloud, whatever.”

This service will provide an opportunity for budding musicians who haven’t had the opportunity to professionally record their performances. The pricing for this service hasn’t been determined yet, but Ehlers will ideally make these new services as budget friendly as possible. “So it’s less, you come and play, get paid and leave; it’s more, ‘We like your sound, here’s our business card, let’s keep in touch, let’s work together.’ ”

It’s our goal to see someone getting big in Springfield.

—Kevin Ehlers, LemonDrop

To receive the best of what LemonDrop has to offer, Ehlers recommends becoming a member,  which is $30 a month for students. Potential members can receive a tour of the new location to see what all LemonDrop has to offer. Membership requires paying dues, signing a contract, and receiving a key to access the location. Benefits include 24/7 access to the venue, free entry to events, unlimited use of artistic tools, and the ability to collaborate with other members on projects.

Any artists or musicians wanting exposure or needing information on submissions and performance opportunities should fill out LemonDrop’s artist contact form.

However, all of this isn’t possible without help. Residents can volunteer or donate to help LemonDrop realize its creative vision.

Says Ehlers:

We know where it’s going. We just don’t know what it will become.