By NATHAN WITT/Staff Writer
The roads of Tyler are bubbling and cracking in anticipation of the underground music scene’s burst into mainstream attention. Local music venues are boasting shows with hundreds in the audience and the new format “house shows,” first popularized in Denton, has begun trending with young adults in Tyler. The perfect recipe for a vibrant music culture has arrived.
Brandon Timms, more commonly known as “BT,” remembers when he sat in a home studio as a kid listening to Tyler rappers spit their rhymes. He now owns and operates BT Studios, a habitat for some of the most active names in the Tyler rap scene.
According to BT, 33, it was people like him and DJ Juice who built the foundation for the current momentum. Now, he adds, “the city is ready for it.”
BT even goes as far as predicting that someday Tyler will become as relevant to the rap scene as New York City is.
—-
Check out Nathan Witt’s music podcast
The Tyler Set List Ep.1
—-
In some ways, this boom in the underground music scene is a natural evolution that all of America is experiencing. Advances in home studio equipment have made creating music more practical. Interest in local music can go nowhere without a substantial artist base to support it.
“Back in the day, they didn’t have the equipment that they really needed,” BT said.
Close to a year ago, Dave Jarvis opened an indie concert venue called The Green Room in Tyler. The spot has become a favorite among college students. Jarvis created the space as a response to the “desire to create music.”
However, it’s the fact that “anyone can cut an album in their bedroom” that makes it feasible, he said.
Gabriel Hupf, a 20-year-old music fan, drives an hour to Tyler at least once a week to enjoy the culture and underground music scene.
Hupf said “10 times out of 10” he would rather go to a house show or local venue than a traditional bar or club. For evidence that the movement is close to mainstream recognition, look no further than this new phenomenon to Tyler. Event promoters and influencers DJ Xoga and June the Profit have taken house shows to a new level. With backyard bashes where the artists perform from the roof to flagship events like Summerfest which feature food vendors, slip‘n’slides and bounce houses.
Hupf referred to DJ Xoga as the “go-to” DJ for Tyler house shows, along with frequent business partner DJ October. Xoga explains the house shows were a way to “actually care about the fans” and give them what they want.
What do they want, exactly?
“Freedom.”
“I want to give the people the night of their lives just to do anything, just to get everything off their mind, not give a care,” Xoga said.
Yet, what’s made their shows so successful has been their priority of “safety over everything.”
2020 was a challenging year for most, but in that tragedy, stories of triumph emerge. Somewhere inside the lockdowns and social distancing is the final key to the recent boom in local music’s popularity. COVID-19 may get partial credit for the current boom.
The extended period of minimal social interaction could be fueling this migration to the less-polished shows of Tyler’s underground music scene for the authenticity it brings. Priya Gill, a UT Tyler student, recounted her first small concert experience at a house show DJ Xoga worked.
“It was more enjoyable,” she said, “because you actually get to meet the artists performing.”
Jarvis said people were “so pent up” during the pandemic and now they’re “rediscovering” how much they missed “enjoying stuff together.”
