Starkville DIY featured local bands Sludgelung, Fogcrawler of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Springfield, Missouri, bands Vulgarity and Primitive Rage in its fourth show this semester at the Starkville Community Market on Thursday.

This is not the first time the DIY scene has attracted a wide range of artists, as last year notably praised midwest emo-legends Camping In Alaska took the stage at the Starkville Area Arts Council alongside bands from Alabama and Hattiesburg. Earlier this year, HKFY of Tijuana, Mexico, played at the Visual Arts Center near campus. 

It is no surprise that Starkville has attracted this wide array of creative attention. Still, none of it could be possible without determined Starkville DIY members eager to reach out and promote Starkville.

Lishman Heathcock, the creator of Starkville DIY, discussed the booking and promotion process.

“They mainly come to us,” Heathcock said. “When it comes to touring acts, they almost exclusively hit us up. We pull in a lot of people from a lot of other cities who are very creative, very driven, very different people.”

Max Hyche, booker and guitarist of Sludgelung, discussed this process further alongside Quilan Kurtycz, booker and bassist of Bored to Tears.

“I think the reason that a lot of bands hit us up is because we’ve built such a good reputation with the bands that have come through here,” Kurtycz said. “The scene keeps expanding and getting more influence across different areas, and more and more people are inspired to make more art.” 

Even though larger bands frequent Starkville DIY, the scene still emphasizes promoting local artists and creatives.

“If there’s a band coming in that’s really big, we want to put a local on there so that they can build up a good connection with that band,” Hyche said. “What we do matters to people, and just that is enough to make us want to try to make it as best as we can.”

The show kicked off with Fogcrawler from Tuscaloosa, AL, who set the scene with a gritty, undeniable stage presence.

The next band that performed was Vulgarity from Springfield, MO, who gripped the crowd with a demanding, unified sound. Touring alongside them and also from Springfield, MO, Primitive Rage followed Vulgarity and kept the energy set by the previous artists, and even enhanced it with their own unique and hypnotizing set.

The show ended with Starkville’s very own Sludgelung, who brought the show to a point and reminded everyone that no matter how wide the range of the show, Starkville’s very own will always come up and show out. 

The show demonstrated the collective energy of Starkville that continues to encourage artists from out of state to keep coming back. During the night, fans came together to inspire and appreciate the music and arts brought in by artists from all across the states, some of whom were experiencing Mississippi for the very first time.

Brandon Procell, lead vocalist of Vulgarity, spoke about the show and Starkville from a newcomer’s perspective.

“Great crowd energy. The turnout was good. Locals were really, really fun to just be around.” Procell said. “We’ve done certain outside shows before, but this one was unique. It was it’s own thing.” 

Procell also expressed appreciation for the DIY scene in Starkville.

“What Starkville is doing with the DIY scene and keeping it alive, making sure people are coming to shows, starting bands, supporting other bands, and keeping this big awesome thing going on,” Procell said, “it’s great.”

As more shows happen, more bands turn their attention towards Starkville and the DIY scene. Throughout the years, Starkville has cemented itself as a unique place to be for music and the arts in Mississippi and continues to develop and draw in crowds that keep the scene alive, united, and a beacon of possibility for bands and artists across multiple states.