1/24/2024
Welcome to Swing and Strings Weekly
Special Edition
It's finally here! The very first Swing Renaissance in our new monthly series kicks off this Thursday at the Clubhouse!
You're probably wondering what compelled us to take this ambitious leap into promoting our own monthly series and it all starts with a story.
In December 2010, two bright eyed young fellers made their way downtown to the Sheraton to see the guitarist Frank Vignola perform his '100 years of Django' tour for the Jazz SLC series put on by the GAM Foundation. Rushing over from the U after Jazz Improv I class, they entered into a packed house. The place was standing room only and humming with excited conversation. They were a bit disappointed to see that the seats were full. However, miraculously, and being the gentleman that he is, Gordon Hanks saw their faces and whisked them to the front row, just a few feet from Frank. It was an incredible night of melody, improvisation, and swing guitar à la Django that was nothing short of transformational. That single experience inspired Nathan Royal and James Martak to start the first incarnation of Hot House West the very next week.
Since then, it has been a wild journey of connection, learning and joy that has brought us to where we are as an organization today. It is hard to overstate the impact a single transformative experience can have on an individual and their life. Gordon’s concert did that for us. When Jazz SLC shuttered their doors last year, they sent a letter that included this sentence:
“Our hope is that our series has brought you joy and inspired our audience to help keep Jazz, our truly American artform, alive.”
It truly did that for us – as individuals, as a band, and as a nonprofit. We are using our 501(c)(3) status to this end: to educate, to perform, to mentor, to connect and to keep this artform alive and well. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you Gordon & Connie Hanks, and Amanda Lufkin.
So that brings us back to the Swing Renaissance series. Frank Vignola inspired us and we want to pay it forward. Sometimes you need to go big to create those kinds of transformational experiences that connect us, inspire us, and fill our lives with joy. By hosting a regular series, we can rally together as a community and invite people in. You never know who is in the audience or what fruit will come to bear. It may take a decade or more.
So come listen, connect, dance, sing, play, network, laugh and celebrate our incredible Utah community. Help us plant the seeds for tomorrow. We love it here and look forward to growing this scene into the best in the West.
---Nathan Royal
Executive Director
A Swing Renaissance II - January 25th
at The Clubhouse on South Temple
Our first Swing Renaissance show of the year will feature Pompe n' Honey, The Hot House West Swing Orchestra and Swing Collective jamming. This series is a central pillar of our programming for 2024 and will occur on the fourth (or sometimes last) Thursday of every month.
Doors open at 5:00pm
Acoustic Swing jams from 5:00-6:50pm (come sit in and play!)
Performance by Pompe n' Honey at 5:00pm
Performance by Hot House West Swing Orchestra from 7:00pm - 7:50pm
Fashion show at 7:50pm
Beginner-friendly Swing Dance Lesson from 8:00pm - 8:30pm
Social dance with the Swing Orchestra from 8:30pm - 10:00pm
We would like to give our sincerest thank you to our chair sponsors! These folks have generously sponsored each seat in the Swing Orchestra to make this event possible.
• The Tippins Family Bandleader Chair
• The Tiffany and Jared Quilter Rhythm Guitar Chair
• The Cori Fabian Reed 3 Chair
• The Roy Donk Trumpet 1 Chair
• The Scott Hansen Trumpet 2 Chair
• In Honor of Marvin D. Loflin Trumpet 3 Chair
• The Woodbury Family Trombone 2 Chair
• The Jack and JoAnn Turner Drum Chair
•The OTW Safety Violin Chair
We are also grateful for our corporate sponsors! It take a village..
And now for a little photo journey through time.
Then...
Hot House West - (formerly known as the Hot Club of Zion)
Nathan Royal, James Martak, Kevin Schultz, Liz Conway
@ the Beehive Tea Room circa 2011
Nathan Royal, James Martak, Kevin Schultz, Andrew Glanville
@ the Big Ed's circa 2011
Both of these venues have since closed! We are just getting started however.
Now...
Our First Swing Renaissance show @ the Clubhouse!
Intermountain collaboration. HHW Swing Orchestra @ the Avalon Ballroom in Boulder, CO
The Fiddle Tunes Stringband & Jazz Swings
Part of our outreach efforts in partnership with ARTS INC.
The birth of the Trash Moon Collective! Our program focusing on building up the bluegrass, old-time and acoustic roots scene. 2023
The Swing Orchestra!
Our Purpose
Our purpose is to create experiences of connectedness, learning, and joy through the language of acoustic music.
Our Vision
We envision Salt Lake City as a hub for world class acoustic music. We accomplish this by building a healthy community-oriented ecosystem that’s accessible for all.
Thank you for hanging out with Hot House West! We are an organization devoted to growing and supporting Utah’s swing and acoustic roots music community. We believe that acoustic music—from swing and jazz to bluegrass, old-time, country and western— brings people together and creates opportunities for connectedness, learning, and joy.
Our goal is to provide and promote weekly and monthly events, from dances, to jams, concerts, and workshops, that support and build our acoustic community. If you’ve ever wanted to dust off the ol’ guitar, meet new players, find a dance partner, or even just find more live acoustic music, follow us, spread the word, and join our Hot House West community! We hope to see you soon!
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