Putting on My Debut Concert With Alt Citizen and Market Hotel

My Love Letter to the NY Music Scene 

Epoxy at Market Hotel, 9.14.25 – by Jenna Murray @jennamurray

Shortly after graduating from college in 2024 with a degree in Slavic studies (another one of my lifelong callings), I realized I wanted to pursue a career in the music industry. In what capacity, I did not know yet. How does one begin such a career? I also did not know. But I was already going to around three concerts a week, sometimes more, and had friends working in the NY music sphere. Going out on weekends began to feel like a necessary step towards my career goals. Becoming friends with a few bands led me to design and sell merch at concerts. These were one-off gigs that put a little extra money in my pocket on top of my server job. After a brief stint as a social media intern at a music label that wasn't quite for me, I began dreaming of putting on my own show.

I have a few friends who are bookers, so I already knew how arduous and stressful it can be. While I had ideas and connections to venues, I came to the understanding that it wouldn’t be feasible on my own as someone with no prior experience. So this aspiration was briefly put on hold.

Push Ups at Market Hotel – by Jenna Murray @jennamurray

On a Monday night last April, I attended a show at TV Eye, a venue in Ridgewood that I often visit. While sitting in the backyard, I met Jojo through a mutual friend who seemed to be working like five music industry gigs at once. Primarily, she manages the NYC screamo group Epoxy and works PR for a music label. Trying my best not to bombard her with a million questions, I asked her for advice on how to begin pursuing a career in the music industry.

Nasa, founder of Alt Citizen Magazine, during Computer Wife’s set – by Jenna Murray @jennamurray

Fast forward a few months–we had become friends and I helped her with band management duties by attending and writing a piece about an Epoxy show. Offhandedly, Jojo mentioned in conversation that she always had ambitions of putting on a show at Market Hotel– a 500-person, Brooklyn-based venue overlooking the elevated Myrtle Broadway subway station– which has been hosting small and large-scale events for the past seventeen years (for an excellent piece on the history of Market Hotel check this out).

Instantly, I said we could make that happen. My dream didn’t seem as far-fetched anymore. I was already good friends with all of the Market employees and was extensively familiar with how they operated. This, in combination with Jojo’s industry experience–which I lacked–completed the puzzle, and so it was decided we would book, host, and organize a show at Market Hotel.

Epoxy at Market Hotel – by Jenna Murray @jennamurray

Skipping over the abundance of technical tasks one must take care of to put on a show, the basics come down to curating a lineup, setting ticket prices, negotiating contracts with the bands and venue, promoting, and then helping to coordinate and run the show on the day of. Jojo and I quickly realized that we worked very well together, and our combined knowledge of people and music was a strong partnership with huge potential.

I imagined the vast network of people we recruited to help us put on such a large event as an intricate network of blood vessels: delicate and tangled. On several occasions, Jojo would confuse one with another or would ask me to reexplain how I knew a person. Many spreadsheets and lists were made in the process. 

Crowd shot – by Jenna Murray @jennamurray

Perhaps a month into our planning, we also teamed up with Alt Citizen, the NYC-based independent music publication and live show promoter (Nasa, the magazine’s founder, had previously worked with Jojo). Our event happened to coincide with the series of shows they were putting on for their 15-year magazine anniversary (read more about the series here). Ours was slated as the finale night following five back-to-back shows. What started off as a solo pursuit had now grown into something bigger than we could have ever imagined.

Alt Citizen helped us immensely with promotion. They launched a wheatpasting campaign across Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, acquired a liquor company sponsorship so we could have an open bar for the first hour, and a feature in Variety Magazine.

Rare DM’s set – by Jenna Murray @jennamurray

On Sunday night, September 14th, our show went off without a hitch. As I stood on a bench to see the crowd during one of the sets, I felt an indescribable feeling. We did it. All the people in that room at this moment in time were there because we pulled off such an ambitious accomplishment after several months of planning.

This show booking saga is the best way I can illustrate to someone new the intricacies and heart of the NY music scene. A chance encounter with Jojo at TV Eye led us to pull off our first show, which in turn expanded our networks and led to new opportunities.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say a huge thank you to the Alt Citizen team, the Market Hotel team, and all our friends who supported us along the way. And of course, expressing how proud I am of Jojo and myself.

Jojo and I, 9.14.25 – by Jenna Murray @jennamurray

Hand-drawn flyer by me