A backyard in Columbia is helping reshape the city’s music scene and change artists’ lives

Every couple of months, a backyard in Columbia fills with hundreds of students, music lovers and musicians, all because of one student-run organization that’s reshaping the city’s music scene.

Local Mojo SC is a dedicated group of USC students passionate about music, entertainment and giving attendees an easy way to see local artists.

The first Local Mojo started back in 2021 at the University of Massachusetts and has now grown nationwide into a grassroots celebration of local music. Including Columbia’s group, there are eight communities across the U.S., according to their website.

The Columbia organization emerged last year from the dedicated effort of three students, Drew Michalak, Jaden Kushnir and Melanie Hix.

Michalak, now the director of Local Mojo, said that Local Mojo’s popularity has skyrocketed since their first show in February of last year. He told The State he didn’t believe it was possible.

“We were all hell-bent on making Local Mojo a prominent player in the local music scene here,” he said. “I knew that we were going to try our best to make ourselves established, but I had no idea that it was going to take off as well and as fast as it did.”

It used to take weeks of marketing for 100 tickets to be purchased for their backyard shows. Now, tickets sell out almost immediately.

How does it impact local artists?

For Mathew Powers, a USC student and lead singer of Déjà Vu, a five-piece indie rock band, Local Mojo allowed him and his band to perform a gig they won’t forget anytime soon.

“It was one of the best shows we’ve done so far, by a long shot,” Powers said. “The crew is always super respectful, the energy of the crowd is amazing, and they really know how to put on a show.”

It can be difficult for emerging artists, especially student musicians, to make themselves known in Columbia’s vibrant music scene, but Local Mojo takes pride in giving new bands a stage to shine on.

“I think it’s honestly been one of, if not the best place, to shine light on some of the growing talent in Columbia,” Powers said. “We see a lot of new bands come out of the woodwork, and Local Mojo’s the best spot to highlight all of those people.”

“It gives them a platform to get seen and heard,” Michalak said. “By having them on our show, they get to have a lot of eyes on them.”

Local Mojo doesn’t just provide a good time for attendees and musicians alike, but they aim to give bands an experience that will prepare them for professional gigs in the future.

According to Michalak, performers are paid, given contracts and are encouraged to work with Local Mojo’s marketing team to build their image ahead of the show.

Dereek Tucker, a co-founder and bassist for The Lotus Theory, another USC student-run alt-rock band, said the experience playing at Local Mojo is unlike anything he’s seen at other venues.

“We usually play at some bar where people go to, but they don’t exactly go for the music every time,” Tucker said. “But at Local Mojo, it’s like people are really more interested in the music compared to when they’re going to see some band playing at a bar in Five Points or something like that.”

What’s next for Local Mojo?

Other Local Mojo branches have launched giant festivals that attracted thousands of music lovers, and Michalak wants to bring one to Columbia in the future.

“Our team is really bullish, and we really think we can make it happen,” he said. “So that’s what we’re looking towards down the stretch.”

Backyard shows will also continue, but will likely become less frequent as they try to establish themselves at bars and other music venues around Columbia. As they keep moving forward, Michalak said he believes Local Mojo’s authentic, grassroots style will shape the city’s local music scene for the better.

How to catch a concert

Local Mojo announces concerts through their Instagram, usually giving followers more than a week of notice to purchase tickets.

When a new concert emerges, you can find the link for tickets on their Linktree. They host events at different venues, so addresses may change. They’ll tell you the address once a ticket is purchased.