Imagine a space where headphones come off and speakers are turned up to 11. Local bands and music lovers gather together, feeling the same beat. String lights illuminate the crowd, and in this moment, life is good.
Local Mojo brings that dream to life—all in a Columbia backyard. Local Mojo is a national organization that focuses on uplifting local music and bringing communities together. They have eight branches across the U.S., Columbia included. The branch was formed early last year and is run by four students with a passion for music.
Drew Michalak, one of the co-directors of Local Mojo SC, was introduced to the organization through a fraternity connection—an opportunity that would soon transform his college experience.
“Jaden Kushnir was in my fraternity, and he just so happened to get connected to a guy named Charlie Becker, who is Local Mojo’s founder," Michalak said. "Last winter break, I get a FaceTime from Jaden and he said, ‘would you be interested in starting a community with me?’ I didn't really know what he meant, but I said, 'yeah sure.'”
Now, the Columbia team is led by four students who bring unique perspectives to every Local Mojo experience.
Melanie Hix, a sophomore advertising major and the team’s marketing director, worked alongside Michalak and Kushnir to build the organization's presence from the ground up.
“I feel like I wouldn’t have even categorized us as an event or a venue, we started off pretty much as a promotion company," Hix said. "The first objective that we had was connecting with the artists and making sure that we had those relationships.”
Hix began her marketing strategy with throwback posts, spotlighting past local bands and historic concerts from Columbia's history.
Michalak and Hix later introduced a news-style segment called "Bird is the Word" into their social media strategy. The segments featured Kushnir as the main on-camera presence and highlighted where audiences could find live, local music in and around Columbia.
Michalak said the segment sparked new ideas for the team, particularly in surrounding how they could better support these new artists.
"I kind of realized that there was only so much we could do with the social media with just the three of us, and only so much value we could bring," Michalak said. "I wanted this name to get out there, and I said, we should try doing backyard shows."
They kicked off their new idea with their first show "Love is Live," a Valentine's Day show that also served as a charity concert for one of Silk Road's sound team members who was fighting a battle against bone cancer.
The show raised around $1,300 dollars towards the cause, despite being delayed for weeks.
They were finally able to expand their team that summer, bringing Wyatt Hays, a junior sports and entertainment major, on as programming and booking director, as well as Dan Porcelli, a senior music industry studies major, as co-director.
Their first show as a four-person team was "Take it Outside," which became a defining moment for Porcelli.
"We started, and the four of us did our first show 'Take it Outside' in the fall, and that was kind of the one that blew everything up," Porcelli said. "That's what started our growth. And then since then it's just been a step up every time."
Now, the organization has hosted six shows and has even had a stage at St. Pat’s festival, the annual Five Points staple.
Local Mojo's humble beginnings and student-run events make it unique, but their prioritization of their performers takes them a step further.
Ethan Masset, a member of the bluegrass band, the Podunk Ramblers, and the rock band, Meade, has experienced firsthand the comradery of the Columbia music scene.
"The music scene has a lot of good players that are willing to share good information, which has helped us get better and get gigs," Masset said. "People are concerned with helping other people get gigs. It’s not an ultra-competitive thing.”
Hays has not only worked behind the scenes with Local Mojo, but has also been on the performance side of things as the drummer for Sandlapper, a local band made up of USC students. Hays has seen that the energy in the Local Mojo space is second to none.
"I think the biggest thing is that it's in a backyard," Hays said. "It has that kind of vibe of that house party feel from high school, but it's a big event where it has the feeling of those movies of these college kids all partying and hanging out. But, not only that, it creates an intimate environment between the artist and the fan."
With all of these musical connections, Local Mojo has honed in on a niche that many people, especially musicians, have wanted to be a part of. Although Local Mojo’s atmosphere is laidback, their team puts in the work to create a professional atmosphere for the artists that step into their backyard. They negotiate contracts, provide detailed schedules, and even convert their own bedrooms into green rooms solely to give these artists a top-notch experience.
Their final event of the semester, "In Bloom" on April 25th, featured four local bands, all of which include current and former USC students.
Michalak and the team want to create an idyllic college experience for everyone, no matter their involvement or age.
“I just thought back to when I was a freshman, and when I wasn’t in a fraternity yet, I would wait an hour in line just to get in somewhere," Michalak said. "So I thought all of those extra people probably would like to see music somewhere else. At the very least, they want easy access to come hang out socially.”
Porcelli, one of two seniors on the Local Mojo team, hopes that the impact of their legacy will last long after they graduate.
“As we continue to grow in our careers, later down the line, hopefully we'll get to see these artists be bigger than us and larger in life," Porcelli said. "And maybe they’ll give us a phone call.”
