Student musicians looking for publicity need to look no further than TowerTube– a new, intimate documentary-style session series for artists and songwriters created by Belmont students Nicole Lowe, Conner Haidle and JohnMichael Mitchell.
“I’ve always been into documentaries and just getting to know people. Over winter break last year, I posted a Facebook status asking if people would follow or support this documentary style of performances. It got over 100 likes, and Belmont students began reaching out about the idea,” said Lowe.
Each TowerTube session delves into a profile of the artist, noting their origin, influences and a deeper meaning behind the track. The artist performs shortly after, which creates a “bare all” moment for artists to express themselves with more than just melodies and lyrics, said Lowe.
The crew adheres to a rather strict schedule, planning weeks in advance with film preparation, artist contact and a three-day period to promote on their growing Facebook page.
“We usually film a week before the release, and we always release on a Wednesday. On the Monday before, we do a ‘guess who’ profile with three facts about the artist. On Tuesday, we release a promo video with the artist announcing that they will be featured and Wednesday we release the actual performance and interview,” said Lowe.
To date, TowerTube has released 15 videos, but it is just the beginning. Low, Haidle and Mitchell plan on growing the project with the hopes of eventually branching out to Nashville artists as a whole.
Lowe also believes the videos are a chance to get to know artists beyond their music.
Before each performance, the artists are prompted with the same three questions: What does music mean to you? What are your musical influence and why? What is the meaning behind the song?
“We always ask the same questions before every session because we get such a breadth of answers from artists. Sometimes responses aren’t more than a few words while others dig deeper into the questions. No two responses are ever the same,” said Lowe.