Houston Music Classifieds celebrated turning 1 on February 3, 2024 at Dan Electro's
In a vision of lights, laughter, and community, over 250 people flooded into Dan Electro’s on February 3rd to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Houston Music Classifieds. With ten local artists taking the two stages, the party lasted over six hours, and the consensus was clear: we need to do this again.
“The community cultivated by HMC was so inspiring to see firsthand at their anniversary show,” reflects Jamie McDonald of Oh, Hooray. “I’m so thankful I was able to be a part of it and that we were given the opportunity to share our music in a room so full of local music supporters.”
“There was definitely a magic spark in the air bringing everyone together supporting each other,” adds The Turnaways, who rocked the downstairs stage. “That was the place to be at on a Saturday night. It was packed.”
In fact, we sold so many tickets that we ran out of wristbands, which ended up being a core memory for Madison Elaine Sutton, founder of Houston Music Classifieds.
“When we got there, we were expecting like 100 people,” Sutton says, “which would’ve been fantastic, but we ended up with more humans than I envisioned. I thought it was really inspiring to see so many people show up for local Houston music.”
It seems that people are eager to support the scene when provided a space to do so. Perhaps this could be the future of local music: more people hosting more events that focus on warmth, diversity, and organization. After all, the spirit of local music is alive and well; it just needs an environment that fosters it.
“The HMC anniversary show was a joyous and radically inclusive celebration of the diverse acts and genres that make Houston a great music city,” says Hexpartner, one of our solo performers.
“As someone who writes and performs dungeon synth, I was initially nervous about how my music would be received by Houstonians,” they continue. “HMC including me in listings for local DIY shows over the past year and inviting me to their anniversary show lineup made me feel that I truly belonged in the Houston music scene!”
After receiving so many heartwarming responses to the anniversary show, Sutton reassures that there will be many more shows to come. “This is definitely something we are going to be doing again,” she says, “and we will be bigger and better each time.”
Of course, we wouldn’t be able to do any of this without your support. “I’m so grateful,” Sutton says. “To see the excitement everybody had to support… It showed me that Houston Music Classifieds is on its way to fulfilling its goal of becoming a community and a central point for Houston music.”
We would like to thank everyone who celebrated with us that night, as well as all of the incredible artists who performed, including The Amazing Bozo; Hate Mail; Forever Miles; Foxmouth; Hex Partner; Oh, Hooray; Órpheus Von Doom; Primaries; and The Turnaways. It was an honor having you!
We would also like to thank Dan Electro’s and Shaun Brennan of Splice Records; our amazing vendors, Gwenyth’s Garden and Tacos Bomberos; as well as our volunteers, Daddy Princess, Jakob Hulten, Jude Stacey, Mary Hammer, Michael Burka, Tanner Herndon, and Sara Pressley.
The anniversary show truly captured the essence of what we believe in at Houston Music Classifieds, and we can’t wait to do it again.
Gallery photos are party pictures taken by whoever had the camera at the time
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