INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — This year has been especially hard on local musicians, who typically rely on gigs in restaurants and clubs to make ends meet. But for the past nine months the pandemic has kept that from happening.
Everybody is taking a financial hit this year whether it's a music venue, music artist, even people on the audio/video side of things," said Jake Huber.
Before the pandemic, local film maker Jake Huber and live venue owner Mike Angel launched the web TV series called 'Music in Transit' a way to highlight the Circle City's musicians as they perform live shows on IndyGo buses and bus stops.
"It's really that simple. We put bands on a bus and when it allows for it an audience too," said Angel.
Season one was all about surprising new audiences. "You stop in your own tracks and you're like oh, what is this I'm experiencing right now? After a while every single act we had formed a crowd, and through that many acts have reached out to us saying thank you because I've gained a new audience. I've had people buy our record, just from these videos," Huber said.
Season Two of Music in Transit will look a bit different. The mobile shows are socially distanced this time around, with a limited crowd. Huber and Angel are hoping season two will allow the world to still see Indianapolis musicians of multiple genre's, who, thanks to pandemic restrictions, could use all the exposure they can get.
"Hip hop, old country, indie rock, funk. Everything really. If we promote this properly, we could get a pretty broad reach for them and hopefully drive up their album sales a little bit," said Angel.
Season two of Music in Transit will premier this month on YouTube -- that's also where you can catch up on the first season.
This story was first reported by Cameron Ridle at WRTV in Indianapolis, Indiana.
