Flashing Traffic Signals. Carefree laughter. The hot desert air. People dressed like celebrities. The fragrance of top-shelf alcohol mixing with a cavalcade of perfumes and pheromones to create a most captivating scent. This is any Friday night during the summer in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Respect The Underground knows that the competition in business is fierce and it requires a lot of work to pack a venue in this environment. But with the competition so intense and expectations raised by your previous successes, how does a company like RTU keep packing the Monarch Theater consistently? They put on quality shows that either give artists quality opportunities or showcase a quality artist. The show they put on July 13th was more than just another successful night for RTU but it reinforced the fact that they can pull off things even when the content is unproven.
Having an open mic night is essential for an company trying to be a pillar in their local music scene. Having a quality open mic night is an accomplishment that it’s seemingly harder to pull off these days. The idea of unknown artists getting on stage for one song and trying to leave an impression is a hard one to sell these days when the options for Friday night entertainment keep expanding. Why pay money to watch some unknowns when you can put your money towards something you’re familiar with? This is the mindset of any rational customer and changing their mind requires something special. It requires more than just a stage and a mic. You need quality DJs like the ones from iKon Radio, you need a quality venue like the Monarch Theater, you need quality incentives like opportunities to perform on the main stage at the Arizona Hip Hop Festival, you need quality people running the event like the people at RTU, and you definitely need quality performances from the unknown artists to pull off a great open mic night. The night was electric with artist interactions and fan engagement at a peak with new artists gracing the stage to show the Arizona crowd what they could do. The representation of women was strong. The female artists showed up in full force and really made an impact. At the end of the all of the artists had made it hard for RTU to pick just one winner so they gave the opportunity to 3 lucky performers, Guy Ver, Hope Music, & Don Isreal. Be sure to check them out in November at the 5th Annual Arizona Hip Hop Festival.
They could’ve easily picked one artist to help out but they recognized the talent and effort put on by these artists and decided that they would do the right thing. If you are trying to put on shows or open mics as good as Respect The Underground you need to ask yourself a few things. Do you have artists from 4 different states (Arizona, California, Nevada & Minnesota) trying to win your open mic night? Respect The Underground is becoming a national name and it’s easy to see why. They are packing the house and creating opportunities and that is any Friday night in downtown Phoenix, Arizona.
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