If you’ve heard about anything regarding New York City, it’s about the it’s infamous music scene, an iconic staple of the city’s culture. NYC collective 3rd Space is working to keep that legacy alive, one DIY show at a time.
Scrappy Beginnings
3rd Space launched recently, booking their first event in February 2025 at Chinatown’s Love Not Money record store. Next, they hosted a DJ set. When that proved to be a hit, they began to throw bigger and better shows. Another DJ set at the Skittles pop-up apartment in Manhattan followed, then a hardcore punk show at the Chinatown restaurant King Dumplings. A legendary jazz quartet at a local smoke shop came next, and 3rd Space isn’t slowing down.
There’s truly no telling what they’ll do when they bring their community together anytime, anywhere through live music.
Although attending a local show is always exciting, we often overlook the promoter. The promoter drives the local music scene, doing whatever it takes to keep it alive. They organize their own shows, spotlight smaller artists, and create platforms for diverse subgenres of music.
Promoters Matter Too
Promoters continue to help the scene thriving. For example, they introduce new people to the community by advertising upcoming shows. This helps in reducing the barrier to entry for anyone who’s never attended a show before or doesn’t have time to follow word of mouth. Nevertheless, the work they do is important; it deserves to be celebrated as without them; most local music scenes would be smaller and often nonexistent.
That’s why it’s vital we celebrate the work of 3rd Space and, most importantly, highlight our local promoters as they manage to keep our scenes fun and lively. It’s most definitely time we start embracing our promoters and local booking groups and give them the recognition they deserve.
I'm from Plano, Texas. As an advanced technical theater student at Plano East Senior High, I have a deep passion for physical media, particularly collecting records and CDs. I'm also an avid member of my high school's tech crew, where I spend much of my time building and assembling, which fuels my creativity. When I'm not in the classroom shop crafting the next set piece, you can find me vibing to the eclectic sounds of Le Tigre, They Might Be Giants, and Mazzy Star.
