By Erika Lawson
On Wednesday evening, I got to interview Mason Hart, one of the founders of local independent music label Exclaim Records, about the upcoming ‘Limelight’ show at The Loud.
Here is a transcript of our discussion:
Erika: It looks like we have big Exclaim Records event coming up at The Loud this week. Could you tell me, what is Limelight?
Mason: Limelight is a monthly residency that Exclaim Records hosts at The Loud in Huntington, West Virginia where we book the bands for the evening. We usually have three to four. They’re typically regional. Then also we have our vendors that are collected from the local area to try and bring together a community of like minded individuals to share their art and their passions.
E: Fabulous. I think it’s pretty cool and exciting that Exclaim Records as a group puts the show together every month. And, you feature so many more kinds of music and artists that are- of course, on the label when there’s something new to promote like an album- but you have so many people that you just find and support through the community. Who’s playing this show?
M: This week we have Cumberland, from local (Huntington) area… also have Grown Bones from the Marietta area… and we have Contact Sports from the Charleston area.
E: Fantastic. Congratulations on this being the first show of the year. Next month, you have an extra special version of Limelight. Could you tell me about that?
M: Oh, on March 4 is going to be the LoopLight event and basically it’s a an Exclaim Records and Loopy Fest cohosted event to raise funds for Loopy Fest which will be happening on Earth Day in April. Basically, it’s just a an event that we have set up to kind of piggyback on current typical Limelight events that we have every month but to also kind of do cross promotion for Loopy Fest and kind of raise awareness about that and to bring in a different swath of artists and vendors that we typically wouldn’t get.
E: Excellent. And how long has been Exclaim been up and running now? When did you guys launch?
M: We launched in I believe February of 2021. So we’re going on right about two years almost.
E: Wow, time flies. And could you just briefly list the names of the folks that are involved in Exclaim Records?
M: Yeah, sure. So, it’s Me, Mason Hart- I pretty much do most of the art direction and things like that. And then we also have Josh Dyer on the team who handles most of the business aspects, general management and things like that. We also have Aiden Middleton, also known as Danny Goldenballs on the team, to helps with the vendors and just general assistance. We also work with people like yourself (Erika/Buni Muni), and then also Rebecca Fitzgerald for some different events. There’s a rotating cast of individuals that kind of come in and out to help do what we do.
E: And Jeff!
M: And Jeff who records us at the studio! He’s our head engineer and producer on staff. He pretty much records all the artists on Exclaim for the most part unless they do their own thing.
E: He plays drums in almost everything so he’ll be playing on Thursday too. I’m looking forward to it! Can’t wait. See you there!
M: See you there.
Thursday, February 23, 2023 at The Loud (741 6th Ave, Huntington, WV 25701)
Exclaim Records presents Limelight with Cumberland, Grown Bones, and Contact Sports.
$7 advance or $10 day of show. Doors will open at 8. Music starts at 9.
Tickets are available online: https://theloudwv.com/event/limelight-music-and-arts-night-presented-by-exclaim-records/the-loud/huntington-west-virginia/