When Ezra Passalacqua, the president of the Songwriting and Production Club (SPC). first realized MASSive Desk could be a reality, the venue was only about three months old.
UMass Downtown reached out in May to propose a Tiny Desk-style concert series after opening in February. The venue serves as an embassy to the broader Amherst community.
The first concert of the series featured a four-artist bill and drew in 44 people. Marquez Lopez, Assistant Manager of UMass Downtown, said that, on average, around 30 to 40 people attend events at the venue.
MASSive Desk is one of the first events a student organization has hosted at UMass Downtown; thus, students’ awareness of the venue can increase. The event series represents new horizons for both UMass Downtown and SPC.
UMass Downtown’s programming consisted mostly of lectures from faculty as well as professional workshops for its first few months. At the beginning of this semester, events incorporated more student organizations like Tabletop RPG Club and SPC.
“I don’t think the students are necessarily … caught on to the opportunities it might offer yet,” Passalacqua said. “But I really hope that our club can be a part of promoting this space and what it offers,”
While some audience members weren’t entirely aware of the venue, it didn’t mean they didn’t enjoy its amenities. Guitarist and performer Keira Doyle pointed out some of the unique benefits of UMass Downtown.
“This is a good third space, an event like this,” Doyle said, adding that it offered a contrast to the bars in Amherst, pointing out that admission to the concert series was free. This sentiment was echoed by other attendees.
“In a venue like this, it’s much more personal,” Juliana Marquez, a SPC executive board member and junior psychology major, said.
MASSive Desk’s second outing featured two acts: Doyle and hip-hop artist Cheez. Doyle’s music had a stripped-back presence, just her voice, a guitar and a potent emotional subject. Her set covered topics ranging from an addict’s absolute rock bottom to feeling so insecure that your mind twists a catcall into a “subtle compliment.” It also had lighter moments; a song about Tinder’s cartoonishly vapid nature gained laughter from the crowd.
The night got more playful as Doyle sang a duet with Cheez, whose personality bounced off every wall and window. Cheez, real name Aman Singh, is another member of SPC’s executive board. The MASSive Desk series was Singh’s first time at UMass Downtown.
Singh believed that SPC should put a person holding a sign outside the venue. “So many people walk by here and they’re clearly interested. It’s just like, ‘Am I allowed in here?’” Singh said.
Attendance at the concert’s second outing was lower than the 44 people who had attended the first concert. “I think after midterms, there’s going to be just more of a turnout,” Marquez said.
As far as the future is concerned, both UMass Downtown and SPC members, including UMass Downtown Assistant Manager Marquez Lopez, have expressed interest in continuing the series. MASSive Desk was one of the first opportunities SPC was explicitly invited to without the club members having to organize the show themselves.
“Especially with the arts, there’s lots of opportunities for UMass Downtown to become a space where campus organizations can maybe … if not step out of the bubble of UMass, just step off of campus for a second and display their work to the community,” Passalacqua said. “All these people that are performing, I know them all, and they’re all just so friggin’ talented.”
Seamus Kelley can be reached at [email protected].
