ATL Collective, a non-profit organization designed to unite Atlanta’s music scene, hosted its third annual showcase on Sept. 18. The ATL Collective showcase displays the songs written and produced at their Camp Collective, a program within ATL Collective that serves as a place for singer-songwriters to gather and create music.
Hosts David Ryan Harris and Prisca headlined the event, which was held at City Winery Atlanta in Ponce City Market. The showcase featured performances by different groups of “campers,” singer-songwriters who participated in the Camp Collective.
Creative Director of ATL Collective Micah Dalton noted that Camp Collective was inspired by “In the Round” at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Tenn., where songwriters gather, sing their songs and talk about the inspirations behind them.
Dalton decided to use that concept and apply it to their camp by asking the question, “Can we take what's being done at the camp and translate the spirit of that into a live setting?”
ATL Collective started as a series of open mic nights, which Music Director Robbie Handley and Dalton described as “an interscene exploration.” Because they already built a community with artists through open mic nights, creating a showcase was not difficult.
The showcase, co-designed by Prisca and Harris, was developed over three years. According to Dalton, the first year only had one performer from Camp Collective, while the second had two. This year, they focused on music created at the camp. This posed difficulties for ATL Collective, including finding resources to make the show happen and training musicians to perform their songs live for the first time.
“It’s always pretty unique and exciting that you’re writing and producing a song with a group of people, a lot you’ve never met,” mentor Anita Aysola said. “You’re doing that in three to four days, and it’s quite intense. Now, they've had some space from their song, and they're trying to find a way to perform it live.”
For many campers like musician Emma Rose Holmes, the camp provided a “surprising experience” while building camaraderie, as each musician was placed in a pod with mentors, producers and other students. In each pod, the producer assisted with the writing, and in some cases, performed on stage with the pod.
“I met up with some amazing people in my pod, “ Holmes said. “I don’t really write with people. My thing is mostly writing by myself, so I can really get into it … But writing with them, I was able to bond with them super quick.”
Aysola echoed a similar sentiment, emphasizing ATL Collective’s collaborative atmosphere.
“There are so many of us here,” Aysola said. “But these shows are an opportunity for us to come together, out of our little cocoons, and collaborate on something, even if it’s just for one night.”
The camp gave performers something other than the chance to produce music: songwriting experience and broader insights into the music industry through panel discussions. Musicians like Holmes benefited from the extra depth of perspective about how music connects with the wider Atlanta area.
“We got to see people who knew about the industry in Atlanta, and how the music industry overlaps with other industries in Atlanta,” Holmes said. “And so we got to learn a lot about the business side of it and the really important parts of music that aren't talked about enough that a lot of musicians struggle with.”
In addition to hosting the event, Harris and Prisca, who are both musicians, helped the campers with multiple different aspects of music, serving as mentors for their own pods. Prisca also doubled as a producer.
“I like being someone who can help somebody recognize some of their own light that’s already there and sharpen the skills that they already have, and that they might not realize they have them,” Prisca said.
Mentor Harris added that it was “beautiful” to meet people who were not afraid to take new chances.
As local singers and songwriters gathered to learn about the music industry, write and perform their own music, the showcase offered a chance for people outside of Camp Collective to see the relationships sound has with the sound of Atlanta.
“I think it's a cool way to see a variety of genres, to hear a song that's written for the first time, which I think has its own energy,” Dalton said. “For people that are new to Atlanta or have been in Atlanta forever, it’s a way to say, ‘we're trying to model the sound of the city.’”
