Dive deep into the Denver music scene with season three of Underground at the Showcase, the official youth-produced podcast of the Underground Music Showcase (UMS). New episodes launch on October 29 on all major podcast platforms.
Season 3 Highlights:
- Inside scoop: Hear candid conversations with top local artists who rocked UMS 2024, including Los Mocochetes, The Mañanas, Wheelchair Sports Camp, Virgi Dart, Blankslate, iies, Mr. Knobs, Jami Duffy, Beasts of No Nation, Kayla Marque, Kid Astronaut, Nina de Freitas, and Siembra Soundsystem.
- Capturing the energy: Recorded live at Impact Days during UMS 2024, bringing the festival’s vibrant energy directly to listeners.
- Empowering youth: Powered by Youth on Record (YOR), UMS co-owner and provider of a year-round podcasting internship program for young creatives ages 18-24.
This podcast emerged as a UMS initiative stewarded by YOR, which became a co-owner of the festival in March 2022. YOR runs a year-round podcasting internship, teaching young creatives ages 18-24 skills in storytelling, production, interviewing, and more. Underground at the Showcase is produced by these talented young podcasters, who are gaining valuable experience for careers in the growing podcast industry. The podcast was hosted, filmed, and engineered by former interns Rowan Petersen, Clara Kay, Mars Williams, and Jacob Garret, with Petersen also handling editing and mixing.
“The UMS Podcast was a life-changing experience for me as a member of the podcast production team,” YOR Podcast Intern Clara Kay said. “This opportunity helped improve my interviewing and production skills while giving me the chance to engage in genuine conversations with local artists about their experiences and insights as full-time musicians in today’s ever-changing industry. I’m thankful to my team for cultivating such a welcoming and creative environment.”
Additional production support for Underground at the Showcase was provided by Ryan Conarro, and the podcast was mastered by Executive Producer David Ladon.
“This season features big names in the local music scene in an intimate setting with just one host per episode,” Ladon said. “Consequently, we end up with evocative conversations that incorporate themes of race and identity, gender in the music scene, mental health, Denver politics, and creating community through art. These candid portraits paint a picture of a dynamic and deeply interconnected community where artists share mutual admiration and support.”
David Ladon, YOR’s Youth Success Manager, serves as the executive producer of Underground at the Showcase, supporting podcast interns as they acquire professional skills for thriving in the audio arts and entertainment industry.
“Each year, we work with a new set of producers and hosts who come to the podcast with a range of skills and experiences,” Ladon said. “Over the three days of recording, I watched them grow in confidence as they really took ownership of the production. I feel privileged to share this experience with them.”
Underground at the Showcase offers listeners moments of levity, reflection, and inspiration through conversations about music and its intersections with gender, culture, sobriety, technology, and more.
In one special episode, youth host Jacob Garrett interviews Avery and Lucas from the band Beasts of No Nation. They discuss Afrocentrism’s influence on their music, the impact of culture and lineage, and share insights on managing the dynamics of working within a large ensemble.
“It’s really important to embrace the beauty of diversity,” Avery Jacob, lead singer of Beasts of No Nation, said. “But it’s also important to embrace our origins, take things back to the beginning, and deconstruct harmful elements we’ve learned. We are stewards of culture; we create it in how we communicate and build community.”
You can find Underground at the Showcase on all major platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, and Amazon Music.
About Youth on Record:
At Youth on Record, we believe that all young people, including those who are at-risk and written off, can transform their lives. We are committed to ensuring that the youth we serve graduate from high school, are ready to enter the workforce, transition to college, or pursue advanced technical training and careers.
Our programs empower thousands of teens in some of Denver’s most vulnerable communities, helping them make positive life choices and build the tools, resilience, and confidence to succeed in today’s world and become tomorrow’s leaders.
Underground at the Showcase is one of these vital programs. Not only does it connect program graduates with potential careers, but it provides current students with critical technical skills, preparing them to enter the creative industry.
For more information, visit youthonrecord.org or follow on social media @youthonrecord.
