Sidestage Takes Over EXIT/IN for Artist Showcase

Sidestage Showcase at EXIT/IN, Nick Singer

Friends, family and fans filed into EXIT/IN on November 15th for Sidestage Showcase’s blend of rock, indie, alternative and pop music, highlighting student leaders from Belmont. 

“There is so much creativity and beauty to music and Nashville is always under the impression of country music. And we hope to bring a night where people might fall in love with a different aspect of music, that there's so much effort and love behind,” said Sidestage co-founder Jake Ditomaso. 

Sidestage, founded in the spring by Belmont juniors Ditomaso and Caleb Bordonaro, started  as an artist management company intended to help create a professional work experience for student musicians. 

“I think independently, you can do such great things. We just know there are positives to bringing these bands and artists under a company name. It looks better to the city of Nashville, when we're booking, when we're releasing, it gives us opportunities to get their names up on other platforms,” said co-founder Caleb Bordonaro. 

The Showcase, hosted at concert venue EXIT/IN on Elliston Place, highlighted the four artists under Sidestage management; Keller Anderson, Griffin Tomaino, Velvet Mirage and Dylan Joseph, bringing a variety of genres and sounds to the performance. 

Opening the show, Anderson brought an indie sound with some originals while also covering “Sparks” by Coldplay, acknowledging his gratitude for Sidestage management’s partnership. 

“I love that their goal isn't to build an empire or anything, but to be a company to kickstart artists and push them on bigger things. It’s a really good idea,” said Anderson. 

Following Anderson, Griffin Tomaino performed, bringing a spike of energy to the audience with a pop and hip-hip blended performance. 

“This was my first real show and being at the EXIT/IN was insane. I’m still kind of experimenting with my sound and I wanted to bring harder hitting stuff tonight,” said Tomaino. 

The last two artists were both familiar faces to Belmont students. Velvet Mirage, an alternative rock band, who performed at this year's Rock Showcase and Dylan Joseph, a rock artist who appeared at the 2024 Rock Showcase. 

The energy throughout both performances crackled the crowd with audience members jumping, dancing, singing and rocking out with the artists. 

“I’m really enjoying the performance, all the artists have been great so far. I also think it's great that Sidestage provides students who are artists with actual opportunities to perform at shows like this and to experiment with their sounds,” said audience member Jetta Thompson.  

For more on Sidestage follow their instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sidestagemgmt?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== 

This article was written by Samatha Graessle