Emma Caroline Brown
Editor-in-Chief
Since the 1980s, makeshift shows in living rooms, rundown buildings and artistic hubs have been the place to see up-and-coming bands play, and now, these shows are thriving in the Golden Triangle.
Local music hotspots in Columbus, such as Nü Haus and community groups such as Starkville D.I.Y., give musicians and artists spaces to freely express themselves and become a part of the expanding artistic community that some were not aware existed.
Starkville band Snake Mirror performing at Nu Haus.
Photo by Neely Hartleroad
Lishman Heathcock, a Waynesboro native and alum of Mississippi State University, created the Starkville D.I.Y. Instagram page in 2022 as a place for Golden Triangle-based musicians to promote and book shows. Heathcock was first exposed to the D.I.Y. scene when living in Hattiesburg, and since he has been in Starkville, he sees firsthand how well the scene is doing here.
“It has just become more of a community, and more people are making friends with each other,” Heathcock said. “More people are just making friends from within the scene and branching outside of that. So, versus the first couple of years, where people would just come in, go to a concert and leave, people now go in, make friends and then go and hang out with their friends at other things.”
The community aspect of the D.I.Y. scene in Columbus and Starkville seems to be what keeps houses packed and events going, as people and students are finding artistic havens that support independent artists looking to create and make friends with the same interests.
While the scene seems to have exploded within the past year, Columbus house shows have been big among local artists since the 2000s and 2010s. The most recent house show spot to see local bands perform in Columbus is Nü Haus, which is the home of Max and Neely Hartleroad.
The Hartleroads have lived in Nü Haus since 2020, but they have been around the local art happenings for more than a decade. Max Hartleroad is the drummer for Columbus-based bands Hartle Road and Whitehawk, while Neely Hartleroad is the co-creator of Columbus Collective, a local zine that spotlights handmade artwork and collages each month.
Both Neely and Max Hartleroad got into the house show scene after Max, his brother Toby and his cousin Miles moved into a house together, which they dubbed ‘Pompeii’ after the famous Pink Floyd performance, and started hosting musicians to come play.
Now at Nü Haus, friends, family, artists and people from Starkville and Columbus gather in the Hartleroads’ living room and hallway to hang out, meet new friends and watch performances. New attendees become recognizable, regular attendees keep coming and the flow of people stays steady, which Neely Hartleroad says is what makes the Nü Haus experience special.
“Every time we have a house show, we want more people to experience it,” Neely Hartleroad said. “It’s a good place to just kind of feel like part of a community and meet like-minded people.”
The front hallway of Nu Haus where local bands set up and play.
Photo by Neely Hartleroad
Since the rise of D.I.Y. in Starkville, Nü Haus has had an increasing number of Starkville residents show up for shows. The connection between the two communities has grown stronger after Heathcock got in contact with Toby and Max Hartleroad in 2022, when Heathcock was first starting up the Starkville D.I.Y. Instagram account.
“We were having a show at the time, and Lishman posted about it on the newly created D.I.Y. account, and I think that was the very first post,” Max Hartleroad said. “There was a significant amount of Starkville people who showed up, and it’s stayed that way, so that connection has been a big part of it.”
So, what is a house show like?
Heathcock describes house shows as being less like shows and more like parties, where people are talking, relaxed, roaming around and things feel more relaxed and inviting, as well as unconventional.
“It just feels a lot more unconventional, just for the fact that you are in someone's house, or you're in a restaurant or you're in the back of a store, compared to like a concert with a stage and a venue and all that set up,” Heathcock said. “Even the people who you're going to see working at a show are going to be completely different than people you see at concerts.”
Max Hartleroad says that a house show can be described as an artistic happening in someone’s living space. He also says house shows he has attended have not been limited to music but have also been used for artwork showcases.
“Every house show I’ve been to has been very relaxed and fun since everybody’s just chilling in somebody’s house,” Max Hartleroad said. “Some people even do exhibition-type shows in their homes, so I just think it’s a relaxed space to have art shown.”
Trevor Wycoff and Hunter Walt of the band Bad Data perform at Nu Haus.
Photo by Neely Hartleroad
Music performances, art showcases, improv acts and poetry slams are just a few artistic activities that have been taking place in Starkville and Columbus throughout the past year, with each event bringing pieces of the community together one by one.
D.I.Y. culture and house shows in the South are not uncommon, as Hattiesburg, Birmingham and Tuscaloosa are supporting independent scenes. However, as students graduate, bands split up and attendance dips, it can create a strain on the scene that relies on community support.
The local music scene in Columbus has deep roots, and the artistic relationship established with its sister city, Starkville, D.I.Y. art seems to be stronger than ever. As long as people continue showing up, artists showcase their talents and the community stays strong with support, the Golden Triangle’s D.I.Y. collective will continue to thrive, which is what Heathcock is noticing.
“I don’t want it to be another flash in the pan of a scene that existed for just a few years and then dissipated because there are a million stories of that happening all over the place with D.I.Y. scenes slowing down,” Heathcock said. “I have hope because it seems things have only gotten better for us.”
As of now, there are two upcoming shows at Nü Haus, one on May 5 and the other on May 17, with more on bands and times coming soon, and Starkville shows and events are updated weekly through Starkville D.I.Y.
To stay up to date on artistic events happening in Columbus and Starkville, follow @StarkvilleDIY or @ColumbusCollective on Instagram for event announcements and show information.