One year ago, HDMG held its launch party at Michael Hearne’s Big Barn Dance Music Festival in Taos, NM. As that anniversary nears and we prepare to set up one more time at BBD, we thought it a great time to highlight the accomplishments we, the Board, the artists, and our Patrons and Donors, have achieved in one short year.
With that fundraising, offered 8 grants to artists at various points in their careers. Here are the updates:
We’re celebrating at the Barn Dance again this year, and we’d love to thank you for your support. Stop by and see us! You’ll even meet some of these brilliant artists there.
Lisa Kori's "Daughter of The West!"
We're still basking in the glow of several days of recording with an amazing group of musicians, who came together from all over the country to help HDMG grant recipient Lisa Kori manifest her dream of taking her Asian/Americana fusion music to both the stage and to the studio for a "live in the studio" video shoot. We'll have lots more to say about this project as we get things mixed, edited and ready to go meet the world.
Here's a video of the entire performance at Society Hall - Alamosa, CO on YouTube. It is so heartening for us here at HDMG to see our goal of helping musical artists achieve their vision come to fruition in such a grand style as in Lisa's brilliant project! We invite anyone who would like more information about our idea of helping artists to get their music out into the world to join us! We'd love your help - the more we raise, the more great music we can help bring forth into the world - and we think that's a good thing!
501c(3) Designation Arrived!
Don't know about you folks, but when you see an envelope from the IRS, it's hard to conjure up any feeling other than dread and foreboding. But we had been waiting for such an envelope, so we hitched up our drawers and opened it - and sure enough, we found out that our non-profit 501c(3) designation had come through! So we opened a bottle of champagne (or fizzy wine, more accurately) and celebrated a bit.
We had been waiting for that since last July, so it was a very welcome thing! Thanks to our friends at Society Hall, the lovely non-profit venue in Alamosa for serving as our fiscal sponsor these last several months so we could process donations and issue tax deduction receipts and all those things that non-profit organizations can do. But now we're all set, and it sure feels good!
Also, we are finishing up the process of awarding our first round of artist grants. There were lots of hard choices, and we wish we could award grants to everyone who applied - but we're just getting going, and as far as we're concerned, the sky's the limit! We'll have some more announcements soon on who our first round of grantees are - stay tuned!
It feels very good to have gone from just talking about how we were going to do this crazy idea to where we are actually distributing funds to artists, all in less than one year - and really, we only have you all to thank! It’s the generosity of our more than 70 monthly patrons and the many one-time donors that have allowed us to move this quickly. If any of you out in the world who are not patrons or donors would like to join in this effort to help support the music we all love, we would welcome your help! You can become a patron here.
All of you wonderful patrons and donors will be the mainstay of our support for the foreseeable future, but we will also be going after larger grants and funding from organizations, foundations, and corporations - all of which is uncharted territory - but we are optimistic. We’ll keep you posted!
New Nonprofit Howlin’ Dog Music Group Celebrates Launch with Online Fundraising Concert
Alamosa, CO 11/10/23 – A new nonprofit organization, Howlin' Dog Music Group (HDMG), has stepped onto the regional music scene, dedicated to making a difference in the lives of regional musical artists and the fans who love them. HDMG is an evolution of Howlin’ Dog Records, a record label widely known for its fine roster of “Southwest Americana” releases and artists from Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. Founded on the principles of community, collaboration, and commitment to the music, Howlin' Dog Music Group is poised to become a transformative force for positive change in the regional music community.
To celebrate the launch of HDMG, several prominent regional musical artists will present an online concert on Sunday, December 3rd at 3:00 PM MST, live from the Howlin’ Dog Records studio in Alamosa, Colorado, both to commemorate the launch of the organization and also to invite contributions from the public to further the mission of HDMG. Scheduled to appear are Eliza Gilkyson, Susan Gibson, Jana Pochop, Chris Arellano, David Clemmer and Don Richmond, and there will be pre-recorded videos from Michael Hearne, Bill Hearne, Libby Koch and the Rifters. The concert will stream on the Howlin’ Dog Music Group Facebook page and You-Tube channel.
Founding board member Don Richmond explains, “HDMG is our effort to do something to improve the lot of musical artists in the face of continuing changes in the music business that make it increasingly difficult (and borderline impossible) to continue to put music out for the public to enjoy.” He continues, “With the disappearance of physical media, there is very little reason for artists to make the investment to release recorded music. Unfortunately, the money made from streaming does not contribute much of anything toward making a living for artists in our regional sphere, and we feel compelled to try and do something about that.”
Recognizing these challenges faced by so many musicians, the founders of HDMG came together with a shared vision: to invest in the music they love and the livelihood of the people who create it. With unwavering determination and a heart full of hope, they launched this nonprofit organization to address these critical issues affecting the music industry today.
At its core, Howlin' Dog Music Group is committed to fostering positive change in the following key areas:
1. Direct Investment: HDMG believes musical artists need to make recordings, and their fans need to be able to hear them, and will assist in funding recording projects.
3. Professional Learning: No one artist knows as much as the larger musical community knows. HDMG is committed to serving as a forum to gather that group wisdom and knowledge and make it available to individual artists.
2. Legacy Preservation: We know that music is a part of strong, vibrant communities. Howlin' Dog Music Group will work to preserve the legacy of regional music by creating a regional music archive to serve as a permanent resource for the communities we call home.
Howlin' Dog Music Group operates with the belief that a better world and more music is possible when individuals and organizations come together to support the troubadours who inspire us all. We invite partners, audiences, and supporters to join us in our mission to create a brighter and more equitable future for all.
"We are excited to host this fabulous online concert, and invite everyone to join us in supporting the treasure of regional music and the artists that create it," said Don Richmond. "Together, we can help to make sure the gifts these artists offer to us all are able to continue on into the future."
The board members of Howlin’ Dog Music Group are: Dr. David Clemmer, President (scientist, singer-songwriter and co-founder of Howlin’ Dog Records); Jana Pochop, Vice President (singer-songwriter, social media consultant and co-founder of HDR); Laurel Richmond, Secretary (project manager); Pam Leitner, Treasurer (concert promoter and fundraiser); Don Richmond, Ex-officio member (singer-songwriter, producer and engineer, cofounder of HDR); Eliza Gilkyson (twice Grammy nominated singer-songwriter); Susan Gibson (singer-songwriter who wrote the Dixie Chicks hit “Wide Open Spaces”); Wendy Clemmer (pharmaceutical researcher and executive); and Libby Koch (singer-songwriter and attorney). Staff members of HDMG are Dr. Teri McCartney (counselor, professor, songwriter) and Heather Kilgore (non-profit consultant and fundraiser).
As HDMG takes its first steps, we invite music lovers to join us in our mission. To learn more about our organization, get involved, or make a donation, please visit howlindogmusicgroup.org. Follow us at facebook.com/howlindogmusicgroup for regular updates and great music.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Teri McCartney
719-588-3452
teri@howlindogrecords.com
About Howlin' Dog Music Group:
HDMG is a newly established nonprofit organization dedicated to helping preserve and support the regional music we love and the artists that create it. Founded on the principles of community, collaboration, and commitment, we work to address critical issues affecting the music industry today through direct investment, professional learning, and legacy preservation. Together with a broad community of music lovers, we aim to make a profound and lasting impact on the world.
Howlin’ Dog Music Group
PO Box 825
Alamosa, CO 81101
http://howlindogmusicgroup.org
teri@howlindogrecords.com
719-588-3452
