From the outside, the Madison Music Foundry looks like a quiet warehouse. Looks can be deceiving.

Even at 9 p.m., the lobby is packed. Musicians sit or mill with guitars strapped to their backs. Framed concert posters hang on the walls. A homemade sign written in multi-colored ink and tacked to a bulletin board reads “Drummer Wanted.” Vocal scales and drum lines mix in a fog of melodies and beats. Every inch of the place oozes opportunities for area artists to improve and share in their collective passion: music.

Owner Mike Olson created the Foundry to serve as a hub for Madison musicians of all ages. Gigging bands can rent rehearsal space by the hour. Groups of co-workers can arrange to jam after work. Aspiring youth musicians can take lessons assisted by teachers who specialize in genres from metal to bluegrass.

With modern room-lined hallways and large studio-style spaces, the Madison Music Foundry is a far cry from the traditional conception of a rehearsal space or lesson area situated in a grimy basement or tucked in the back of a store.

The Madison Music Foundry is celebrating its fifth anniversary this fall and continues to makes a difference in the experiences of area musicians.

“On a daily basis when a band checks in or pays it’s really overwhelming because they always thank us, like, ‘Thanks man,'” Olson said. “I don’t usually go to a store and say, ‘Here’s my money. Thank you.’ The appreciation is there, because they know that it took some effort to get something like that going.”

The history of the Foundry began 11 years ago, when Olson acquired 24/7 Studios: 20 rehearsal spaces available for bands to rent by the month. Olson stumbled upon the property looking for practice space for his own band. Olson soon noticed many customers wanted to rent rehearsal space by the hour instead, and thus, the idea for the Foundry was born.

The Foundry team does more than just schedule rehearsals. It also sets up drums and amps in the rooms beforehand to save musicians time they would otherwise waste transporting their gear.

“They walk in with their guitars and their drumsticks, and they’re up and running,” Olson said.

In the past three years, the Foundry has begun to offer an extensive lesson program with up to 500 lessons scheduled a week, according to Olson. The lessons provide an opportunity for youth to learn from local musicians who teach by day and gig by night.

“These are mostly active musicians in the music scene, and they don’t make money really playing their shows. That’s what they want to do,” Olson said. “I’ve created a system for musicians to make money doing what they enjoy.”

The teachers and students aren’t the only ones who benefit from the lesson offerings at the Foundry.

“I’m walking out in the parking lot, and this mom said, ‘I’m sure you hear this all the time, … ‘” Olson recounted, thinking he was about to receive a complaint. “‘I just want to tell you how much this place has made a difference in my family’s life.'”

With the addition of Education Director Ken Fitzsimmons, the Foundry now offers classes from songwriting to getting gigs and booking tours. According to Olson, the number of class options available at the Foundry rivals the offerings of University of Wisconsin Continuing Studies and Madison Area Technical College combined.

“The beauty of the Foundry is its ability to evolve. I started out doing rehearsal studios. I got a handle on that. Now what’s next”? Olson said.

Olson asked himself that same question two years. The answer? A recording studio.

Olson met the original owner of Blast House Studios at the Madison Music Foundry. The owner’s son was participating in Rock Workshop, a program that takes young musicians through the process of forming a band, practicing together, writing original songs and performing in one of the Student Jams that the Foundry staff set up at the High Noon Saloon.

Olson eventually bought Blast House, which he described as one of the best recording studios in the Midwest, with its isolation rooms separated by a glass and stucco wall designed to absorb low-end bass. The kicker? Blast House is just down the street from the Madison Music Foundry.

“It’s kind of spooky, Olson said. “I think these guys actually built this for me.”

The Madison Music Foundry has grown into a bustling mecca for area musicians, but Olson remembers a three-week stretch after the Foundry opened when only one band scheduled a rehearsal slot. Olson soldiered on. Now he escapes to do bookkeeping amid his collection of beer glasses from the Great Taste of the Midwest in his office at Blast House, like any true Midwesterner.

“There have been many times that I’ve second-guessed myself. To even get started it’s like jumping off a cliff, and once you’re off that cliff, you’ve got one choice,” Olson said.

There’s no question Madison musicians involved with the Foundry are glad Mike Olson took that leap.