Naman Gupta, 2020-2021 Co-President
Hi, I’m Naman Gupta. I’m one of two co-presidents for the 2020-2021 school year. In the second semester of my freshman year, I joined the MUSIC Matters Talent & Concert Committee. I served as treasurer and co-chair of the Talent & Concert Committee (T&C) over the next two years. A huge part of my college experience has revolved around music in many different capacities, ranging from my membership in music-focused extracurriculars to my professional involvement in music business to my own artist project—Namix.
I learned to play several instruments throughout elementary, middle, and high school, and I got into DJing and original music production near the tail end of high school. I released my first EP during my senior year, and soon after I started DJing private gigs in my hometown. Naturally, when I moved to Ann Arbor to start college, I was really eager to get my name out there and play at local music venues. I cold-emailed bars and nightclubs hoping to get some gigs, and fortunately, I was able to land a couple before the end of my first semester in Ann Arbor.
In addition to making my own music, I was interested in learning more about the Ann Arbor music scene, and I was quickly introduced to MUSIC Matters. At the time, MM was partnering on a promotional event at a local restaurant/bar. Knowing my background as an artist, the Local Talent team in T&C went out of their way to refer me as a DJ for that event. Over the next few years, the people I met through MM were instrumental in connecting me with gigs all over campus, both within and outside of the scope of MM’s own events. These gigs also gave me some really cool opportunities to get my original music out in front of more people. I had the opportunity to open for A$AP Ferg during SpringFest 2019 and for Lost Kings during one of MM’s shows at Necto Nightclub last year.
Around the time that I joined MUSIC Matters, I also joined a variety of other music-related clubs. Each club had their own niche, all of which were of interest to me. I joined Maize Collective because of its community of passionate, creative-minded individuals who want to be creative together. I also joined Empty Mug Records to learn more about the promotion of music in a record label setting. Over the next few years, I became involved in other music organizations on and off campus, such as Michigan Music Business Club, The CoOp, APG Presents, MEMCO, Necto Nightclub, and others to learn about all aspects of the music world. My involvement in these organizations have yielded some unique professional opportunities, and many of my music collaborations have stemmed from these organizations too.
Being involved in music in different ways has helped me gain a better understanding of both the business and artist side, and I’ve been fortunate to learn a lot and to have many opportunities arise from my involvement. The Ann Arbor, and more specifically UM, music scene is full of super talented people who are constantly looking for ways to push their creativity forward, and for me, music organizations on campus were critical in introducing me to the amazing community.