in case you had fomo: tldr indie night

Back early this spring, Jessenia got to represent us in an interview with the Founder / Bassist of the band ‘Rohna”, Andres Hernandez, featured in our first issue of Cadence Collective Flourish! Here’s how the interview went, and you can check out the spread from the issue & photos collected for Miami Indie Night shot by Angela Matos ( @thecamgela ) and Orlando Indie Night shot by Lis Irizarry ( @lisitascam) below !

When and how did indie night come into fruition?

After things shut down during COVID, nothing was really happening in the live music scene,

but once things started opening back up around 2021 was when we had our first indie

night. As shows started happening it was at half capacity but eventually bands became

more comfortable playing as people became comfier coming back out. In the past I had

always enjoyed going out to the emo night events but quickly found myself getting tired of

listening to the DJ sets, and as a fan of live music I wanted something more interactive. I

have always been into indie rock music so I thought it would be interesting to also try a

themed concert event where I then came up with indie night to gather more local bands

that fall under that genre.

What did creating the first indie night event look like?

At the venue Crowbar in Tampa the owner and I wanted to keep everything very regulated

and safe during COVID, so we placed safety regulations which was our first step to making

this happen. We placed the venue at half capacity and hit it at two hundred tickets, which is

the first moment when I knew that this was really something people wanted to see, and I

needed to make it happen.

What sort of indie bands or artists inspired the want to start indie night?

For me there's a specific era of indie music that’s very nostalgic, all of the bands I listened

to back in high school such as Two Door Cinema Club, Arctic Monkeys and the 1975, really

had an influence. So when I started getting into the local scene I really broadened my

horizons and that really is where the love of it came from.

What is your main focus or goal for indie night?

The main goal for each night is to provide a themed event for local bands to get together

with their audience and to create a special show as a gateway for new local bands to reach

out to people and connect. The culmination of all of this creates a really special night for

everyone.

You're in a band as well named Rohna, does being a musician yourself help you navigate

and orchestrate these events more?

I think so because I believe there's an advantage to having that perspective as well because

there's a lot of times where perhaps an event coordinator or promoter hasn’t been on the

side of the artist, there can be a disconnect on how an event is organized. I myself pay very

close attention to these things not only because my band may be playing but to give the

best experience I can to everyone else performing. It gives me more of a drive to give it the

best turn out as possible whereas some just want to put out a show without thinking

deeper, to put on the best event as possible there has to be that connection to the

performers.

What is your most memorable moment at indie night?

One is from when my band was performing, I've never tried making a circle pit at an indie

show, but all of my band mates and I come from the punk scene, so we're used to the mosh

pits and such. During one song we totally went for it and created the most massive circle

pit at an indie show, and it was amazing to see. A moment that gave me goosebumps was

at the last Gainesville indie night we had a band play a cover of Creep by Radiohead and it

was the loudest singalong we have ever had at an indie night, and it felt incredibly surreal.

What sort of band should we look forward to seeing in Orlando during the May indie night?

Coming to Orlando we have Mustard Service coming up from Miami, a local Orlando band

called Cathedral Bells to end their tour, my band Rohna and two other local bands Lady

Heroine and Mirror Parts.

What should we look forward to seeing in the future with the indie night events?

Right now, we are getting ready for our next few shows but we are looking to get some

shows together for fall as well as some cities in high demand like New York and California,

but the grand goal is to expand all over the country so hopefully sometime next year we will

be getting closer to that.

Photos from Indie Night Orlando by @lisitascam , bands: Lady Heroine , Mirror Parts, Rohna, Cathedral Bells, and Mustard Service

Photos from Indie Night Miami by @thecamgela , bands 0 Miles Per Hour, Better Than This, Cannibal Kids & Rohna