Last March Alternative Arts and Music Program Utah was granted non-profit status! Since our incorporation, we have hosted over 120 different events, housed tens of thousands of concert-goers, heard and danced to hundreds of songs, bought incredible local goods at quarterly markets, seen movies, shot movies, created art, and –perhaps most importantly– celebrated our amazing community. We are so grateful to create such an essential space for Salt Lake City, an outlet for creative passions, and a place where everyone is welcome. We’re excited about our future and the plans and goals we have to continue celebrating the incredible things done by our community.
We’d like to talk to you about some of our initial accomplishments and our plans for the future. The heart of AAMP Utah is The Beehive. Home to concerts and a myriad of events, The Beehive has become a second home to many, and has been the core focus of the initial AAMP agenda. We have made many technical and aesthetic improvements, everything from overhauling the PA system, bringing it up to a competitive standard with other local venues, to constructing a more secure backstage area for performers, to something as simple as a fresh coat of paint. We have improved the lighting system and have many plans to continue to improve our beloved home.
Our first AAMP Utah program outside The Beehive is The Beehive Street Team. DIY marketing has always been a staple of the DIY scene full of a rich history of creative and effective marketing ideas. We have cultivated a team of passionate individuals to design and distribute marketing for upcoming events. In the space of two months, our team has created and distributed ten flyers from the ground up, built infrastructure to raise the on-site visibility of upcoming shows, and made a network of online and local print media contacts for promotion. As this program grows, we will dive deeper into techniques for creating art or marketing and workshop design theory, giving our team more tools for our promotion and creating their own art. If you’re interested in becoming part of this team, hit us up at streetteam@aamputah.org!
AAMP has also started several paid internships for live sound engineering, intending to turn out professional-level live sound engineers with tons of hands-on experience mixing live shows who are ready to take on industry jobs. We can do this with a wide range of genres, local and touring musicians, and unique experiences while giving our passionate and professional sound team a viable work opportunity while they learn.
All of this is just the very beginning of the AAMP Journey. Our first six months were incredible, but we’re only going up from here! This week marks the kick-off of our inaugural fundraising drive and the first of our Quarterly Local Showcase Concert series. The Showcase will bring together incredible local artists every quarter curated by the Beehive Team, with all proceeds going to AAMP and our continued efforts to support independent art and music in salt lake city.
The lineup for our first showcase is Milk Money, Mopsy, and Watchers in the Blind. It brings a mellow blend of indy, prog, and grunge rock that reflects the grit and emotional heart of the Salt Lake DIY scene. Our showcases seek to bring together aspects of the scene that blend well but that wouldn’t normally interact, and our inaugural showcase is no exception. We can’t wait to celebrate these three unique salt lake greats with all of you!
We’re so grateful to have the opportunity to make the beehive a part of your lives. We wouldn’t be here without your continued support and encouragement.
© AAMP Utah
666 S State Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84111