Oct 8, 2026 · 29 min · 9 segments
What does it take to build a thriving local music scene? What happens when people decide to create the community they want to be part of? In the first Common Ground bonus episode, I meet the people…
Kemi AjisekolaHost
But, as we know all too well on Common Ground, having an idea is one thing, pulling it off is another.
To me, the interesting thing about my summer, I'll say, is that it felt like it went in waves.
And it was like, how do you actually nail down the bands and the food trucks and the venue, I guess, is the first step.
And then once we had some of those things nailed down, it felt like um, an overwhelming amount of work to do.
I mean, it was just a lot of contracts to get out and all the communication was like, just all still needed to happen.
But then when we hit the point where it felt like everything was really coming together, it's like interesting that in the last few weeks, then you're like in details, which is exciting.
And the decorations and the small things that you don't think about at the beginning started coming to life.
Yeah, I think I think us also, we did a majority of the work ourselves, especially in the beginning.
And I think It was a smart move to do that because we really work very well together.
We're basically aligned on most things or know how to have conversations about things we're not aligned about and just like getting the communication out right off the bat.
And then from there, once the core elements were organized, that's when we brought in our star team to help with the details to like actually make it happen day of.
know just trying to find other bands that are also as inspiring and kind of blow me away and different from what you see around here i mean there's upstate new york has an incredible music scene um and uh you know there's amazing bands everywhere and like the best thing to do is summertime you know if you here in the summer, you know, any random day, it's like, all right, let's jump in the car and go see this band, you know, 20 minutes away, 45 minutes away, or right here in Geneva.
So there's, there's a lot of incredible bands that are playing here in the area pretty frequently.
So, you know, we're trying to, think about that and, you know, bring in some bands that are interesting and not playing the area as much.
Um, and then, you know, match them with some of, some of the bands and, you know, the collective and, you know, going through my network and, you know, really just finding bands that blow me away and just be like, all right, you know, like, Cause you know, I think some of the greatest musicians are actually out of Geneva.
There's really some incredible musicians here and they, they're very inspiring to see and, and, you know, get the opportunity to play with sometimes and, you know, and, and make music with.
And so just trying to find other bands that are also as inspiring and kind of blow me away and different from what you see around here.
I mean, there's, I would say New York has an incredible music scene, um, And, you know, there's amazing bands everywhere.
But, as we know all too well on Common Ground, having an idea is one thing, pulling it off is another.
To me, the interesting thing about my summer, I'll say, is that it felt like it went in waves.
And it was like, how do you actually nail down the bands and the food trucks and the venue, I guess, is the first step.
And then once we had some of those things nailed down, it felt like um, an overwhelming amount of work to do.
I mean, it was just a lot of contracts to get out and all the communication was like, just all still needed to happen.
But then when we hit the point where it felt like everything was really coming together, it's like interesting that in the last few weeks, then you're like in details, which is exciting.
And the decorations and the small things that you don't think about at the beginning started coming to life.
Yeah, I think I think us also, we did a majority of the work ourselves, especially in the beginning.
And I think It was a smart move to do that because we really work very well together.
We're basically aligned on most things or know how to have conversations about things we're not aligned about and just like getting the communication out right off the bat.
And then from there, once the core elements were organized, that's when we brought in our star team to help with the details to like actually make it happen day of.
know just trying to find other bands that are also as inspiring and kind of blow me away and different from what you see around here i mean there's upstate new york has an incredible music scene um and uh you know there's amazing bands everywhere and like the best thing to do is summertime you know if you here in the summer, you know, any random day, it's like, all right, let's jump in the car and go see this band, you know, 20 minutes away, 45 minutes away, or right here in Geneva.
So there's, there's a lot of incredible bands that are playing here in the area pretty frequently.
So, you know, we're trying to, think about that and, you know, bring in some bands that are interesting and not playing the area as much.
Um, and then, you know, match them with some of, some of the bands and, you know, the collective and, you know, going through my network and, you know, really just finding bands that blow me away and just be like, all right, you know, like, Cause you know, I think some of the greatest musicians are actually out of Geneva.
There's really some incredible musicians here and they, they're very inspiring to see and, and, you know, get the opportunity to play with sometimes and, you know, and, and make music with.
And so just trying to find other bands that are also as inspiring and kind of blow me away and different from what you see around here.
I mean, there's, I would say New York has an incredible music scene, um, And, you know, there's amazing bands everywhere.
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