The Wyoming Arts Council is launching several new programs to grow the state’s independent music scene.
Danee Hunzie is the Arts Council’s new Community Development and Music Specialist. It’s her job to create programs that will support music in communities across the state. She says more music offers tangible benefits. “Music brings money to a community, it brings money to a state. The more music you have in a downtown area, the higher the property sales are. And then I think the biggest benefit is, we have to have communities where people want to live and want to stay and want to be a part of them.”
Hunzie says a new online database of musicians and performance venues across the state will help artists and communities. “People [will be] able to locate musicians based on genres, based on location; and the same on the venue side, so you could look at venues based on location, size, fees—all of the things that are important.”
Another of the Arts Council’s new programs is the Wyoming Independent Music Initiative. Starting next month, a pilot program will work with ten Laramie bands to develop their business models, culminating in a showcase for music industry representatives. And later this spring, other Wyoming musicians will be part of a regional tour to increase their exposure.